^LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. # 

# # 



2 [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.] f 

^ _ J) 

I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.^ 

.'Hi 




^ 

r. 



^ HlA\ THE 



^SN^ njAv THE 



/^ 



gIEDEN OE AMERICA; 

CONTAINING 

PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS 

FOR THE CULTURE OF 

FLOWERS, FRUITS AND 
VEGETABLES, 

THE NATURES AND IMPROVEMENT OF SOILS, 

MANURES, AND THEIR APPLICATION, 

WOUNDS, DISEASES AND CURES, 
MONTHLY CALENDAR, INSECTS, BOTANY, ETC. 



BY WALTER ELDER, 

AN EXPERIENCED PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



**Know ye the land wherein Washington flourished, 
Where man is regarded the fellow of man." 



PHILADELPHIA : 
MOSS & BROTHER. 

/ 1849. 



Ikitered according to the Act of Congress, in the vear 1848, by 

MOSS & BROTHER, 

In the office of the Clerk of the District Court for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



Stereotyped by R. P. JSlosrid^e. 
Printed by T. K. ^ P. G. Collins, 






AMERICAN AUTHORS 

ON 

HORTICULTURE. 



Robert Buist, seed and nurseryman, Philadelphia, is the 
most comprehensive writer on choice flowering plants in 
America ; his "American Flower Garden Directory" being the 
standard work on floriculture in this country. His " Rose 
Manual," on that queen of flowers, the rose, is a gem ; and his 
"Family Kitchen Garden" is said to be the best treatise on 
culinary vegetables. 

Thomas Bridgeman, nurseryman and florist, New York City, 
is a plain, unassuming writer ; his " Gardener's Assistant" has 
done much good, and is an excellent treatise on general 
gardening. 

A. J. Downing, nurseryman and florist, Newburg, Orange 
Co., N. Y., is perhaps the most eloquent Horticultural writer 
of the present age ; his book on " The Fruits and Fruit Trees 
of America" is a rich volume, and contains the cream of all its 
predecessors. Mr. D. refutes the " Limited Durationists" with 
a caustic pen. His " Landscape Gardening" is a splendid 
volume on the different styles of laying out grounds, the cul- 
ture of trees, grasses, &c. 

Michael Flay, nurseryman and florist, New York City, is an 

(iii) 



IV AME RIC AN AUT HO RS 

excellent writer ; his edition and additions of Leindely's 
"Guide to the Orchard" is a valuable book on fruits. 

Messrs Hovey, seeds and nurserymen of Boston, are very 
scientific writers; their Magazine of Horticulture, a monthly 
publication, is an excellent paper, containing- all the new dis- 
coveries, new fruits, flowers and vegetables, costing three dol- 
lars per annum. 

A. J, Downing, Newburgh, also edits a monthly periodical 
called, " The Horticulturist," a most valuable paper, at three 
dollars per annum, giving all the new discoveries and improve- 
ments in Horticulture. 

Mr. Kenrick, nurseryman and florist, Boston, is a fine writer; 
his "New American Orchardist" is a superb book, on the cul- 
ture of fine fruits ; [It is a pity that Mr. K. adheres to the 
Doctrine of Limited Duration.] 

David Landreth, seed and nurseryman, Philadelphia, is a 
pleasing writer. His edition and additions of Johnson's " Dic- 
tionary of Modern Gardening," is a splendid book, and a fine 
ready reckoner for the Amateur and Gardener. His "Rural 
Register" is a yearly periodical of a hundred pages, with many 
wood cuts, well filled with new discoveries, improvements, and 
other instructive matter, costing only twelve cents a year. 

Mc'Mahan's " American Gardeners Calender" is a good book. 

The late Wm. Prince, nurseryman, Flushing, Long Island, 
N. Y., was an excellent writer. His treatise on the vine, is a 
valuable work. 

Edward Sayers is a spirited writer. His "American Flower 
Garden Companion," and " American Fruit Garden Com- 
panion," are useful small works for the beginner. 

Thacher's "American Orchardist" is a valuable book on the 
culture of fine fruits. 

Mr. Fessenden of Boston, is an accomplished writer, and has 
published a valuable work on gardening. 



ON HORTICULTURE. 



Nuttal's " Genera of American plants" is a useful book. 

Barton's " North American Flora" is said to be a most splen- 
did work. 

But, all the above authors address the inhabitants of the 
mansion. Some of them may say, "how do you do" to the 
cottager at a distance ; but they then pass on, seemingly afraid 
to be thought associating with him. So we have taken un- 
trodden ground in the field ; and address ourselves entirely to 
the intelligent cottagers of America. 



PREFACE. 



There is, perhaps, nothing more pleasing to the eye of the at- 
tentive traveller, as he traverses a country, than an improved state 
of the cottage-g-arden ; and nothing can more plainly bespeak the 
intelligence and refinement of a happy people, or tend more to 
enhance the value of property. However plain the structure 
of the cottage may be, yet, when its approaches and appen- 
dages are converted into a flower garden, or stocked with deli- 
cious fruits and wholesome vegetables, it is set down as the 
abode of contentment and good morals ; and where such objects 
are often m.et with, the valleys look more fertile and the hills 
less drear. The well-cultivated fields of the farmer improve the 
landscape, and add beauty to rural scenery; but there is always 
something picturesque and fascinating about a neat cottage-gar- 
den. How seldom do we see the walls of a cottage clothed with 
the clustering honeysuckle and rose, or the generous vine, whose 
delicious fruit richly repays the care of its industrious pruner ! 
The late Judge Buel, in an address on the improvement on our 
country, said : " He who endeavours to improve and beautify the 
small spot of ground attached to his dwelling, is both a patriot 
and a Christian, and does much to elevate himself and his 
country in the scale of improvement." Cobbett, in his " Ride 
in France," gives several illustrations of the improved state 
of the cottage-garden in that country. Germany, Holland, 
and Belgium have long been celebrated for their improved 

(vii) 



VlU PREFACE. 



cottage gardens ; so has Great Britain. Several good articles 
have been written upon the improved cottage garden of New 
England ; and a large book has been published upon improve- 
ments on the banks of the noble Hudson. A volume may soon 
appear, displaying the cottage garden in the different nations 
in the world; and I would fain see the cottagers of our happy 
republic, prepared to occupy the first page of such book, when- 
ever published. 

Philadelphia, Walter Elder. 



Ix\ TllODUCTION. 



In presenting this small volume to the intellig-ent cottagers 
of America, we wish to say, that we make no claim to litera- 
ture, but are an humble delver in the earth, more accustomed 
to the spade than the pen; and better at laying out gardens 
than making up books. But having travelled much, and seen 
the rapid strides which improvement is making, in planting 
towns and villages in different directions throughout our widely 
extended country ; and that Horticulture is not, as it ought to 
be, an accompanying handmaid with other improvements; we 
have thought that it was for want of a little practical knowledge 
on the subject. So we have resolved to condense a few practical 
items in a small volume, to assist the farmer, mechanic, manufac- 
turer, small merchant, and labouring man, to stock and cultivate 
their gardens, and make tor themselves pleasant and happy homes, 
and to enable their housewives to grow a few choice pot plants, 
to enliven their dwellings in the dreary days of wmter. It 
is not intended for those already' skilled in the business, but 
only for the young and inexperienced; and with the humble 
wish of doing good. Every article contained in the book will 
stand the scrutiny of practice; and the whole has been deduced 
from long and extensive practical experience, as head gardener 
to several wealthy gentlemen in difi'erent parts of the country. 
The contents will be found as suitable for the people in the 

south as for those in the north. We request the indulgence of 

(ix) 



INTRODUCTION. 



the reader in regard to any mistakes ; for no man is perfect ; 
and we are not so silly-minded as to think that there is but one 
way of doing everything. On the other hand, we have tried 
many experiments, and the most successful are given in this 
book ; which is the only volume addressed exclusively to the 
American cottager. 

Philadelphia. Walter Elder. 



CONTENTS. 









PAOE 


- 






p&aa 


Address to the Farmers, 


. 


232 


Garden Department, 


- 


- 


13 


Apricot. 


- 


- 


96 


" city, 


•> 


- 


229 


Apple, 


- 


- 


90 


" societies, 


- 


- 


14 


" gathering and keeping. 


- 


94 


" cottage, 


- 


- 


225 


Artichoke, 


- 


- 


140 


Gum, - 


. 


. 


203 


Asparagus, 


- 


- 


141 


Grape-vine, 


_ 


- 


100 


Botany, ' 


- 


- 


27 


Grapes, keeping, 


_ 


- 


108 


Botanist and Florist, 


- 


- 


30 


Gooseberry, 


- 


- 


99 


Bene, Plant, 


- 


. 


167 


Horticultural, notes on. 


. 


3 


Beans, bush or string, - 


_ 


142 


Hot Beds, 


_ 


_ 


34 


Beet, - 


- 


- 


143 


" '• management, 


. 


35 


Baricole, 


. 


_ 


144 


Herbs, aromatic and sweet. 


- 


167 


Brocali, 


- 


- 


144 


" remarks, 


. 




166 


Cherry, 


- 


- 


97 


Hedges, 


. 


- 


178 


Currants, 


- 


- 


98 


" planting of, 


- 


- 


179 


Canker, 


- 


- 


203 


" keeping, 


- 


- 


180 


Cottage, the garden, 


- 


- 


225 


" evergreen. 


- 


- 


180 


Calendar, yearly, 


- 


- 


204 


Insects, 


_ 


- 


162 


Cabbage, early. 


- 


- 


145 


Leek, 


_ 


- 


153 


" late, 


- 


- 


146 


Lettuce, 


. 


- 


153 


Carrot, 


- 


- 


146 


Landlords, duties of. 


- 


. 


15 


Cauliflower, - 


. 


- 


147 


Laying out. 


_ 


_ 


25 


Celery, 


. 


- 


147 


Manures, 


- 


_ 


22 


Cucumber, 


- 


. 


150 


" application of. 


- 


23 


Cum, Indian, - 


. 


- 


152 


Melon, Musk, - 


- 


_ 


154 


Compost, 


_ 


- 


76 


Water, 


- 


_ 


154 


Draining, under. 


- 


- 


20 


Mustard, 


. 


- 


155 


Diseases, 


- 


. 


199 


Moss, - 


_ 


_ 


202 


Dialogue, 


_ 


_ 


216 


Nectarine, 


_ 


_ 


113 


Extract, matrimonial garden 


, 


222 


Nasturtium, 


. 


_ 


155 


Endive, 


- 


- 


151 


Nursery Department, 


- 


_ 


184 


Fences, live, 


. 


. 


ISS 


" budding or inoculatin 


s. 


184 


Flower Department, 


- 


- 


38 


" cuttings, 


. 




166 


Flowers, sowing seeds. 


- 


64 


" grafting. 


_ 


_ 


187 


Bulbs, 


- 


. 


67 


" whip grafting, 




_ 


188 


" keeping clean beds, 


- 


65 


" cleft, " 


- 


. 


189 


" gatherirkg seeds. 


. 


66 


" root, " 


_ 


- 


190 


" labelling sticks. 


- 


66 


" in-arching, 


- 


_ 


190 


" tieing up sticks, 


. 


67 


" layering. 


- 


- 


191 


Fruit Department, 


- 


- 


87 


" seeds, - 


. 


. 


192 


Fruit Trees, prices, 


- 


_ 


133 


" suckers. 


_ 


_ 


193 


" " remarks. 


- 


_ 


134 


'* divisions. 


_ 


. 


193 


" " transplanting. 


. 


135 


" leaves, 


. 


_ 


194 


" " pruning, 


- 


- 


139 


" insects, 


_ 


_ 


v.n 


" " watering, 


- 


. 


137 


Nurserymen and Seedsmen, 




32 


Florist and Botanist, 


- 


- 


30 


Okra, - 


- 


- 


i:s 












(x\) 





xu 






CONTENTS. 










PAQB 






Onion, - 


. 


- 


156 


Rose, perpetual damask. 


» 


plants, names of, 


- 


.. 


29 


" microphylla, 


- 


" fruitful organs 


. 


- 


31 


" climbing. 


- 


" climbing. 




- 


55 


Rhubarb, 


- 


" perennial herbaceous 


, 


57 


Societies, 


- 


" biennial flowering. 




59 


Sites, - - - 


- 


" annual " 


- 


. 


60 


Soils, - - - 


- 


" tuberous rooted, 


. 


69 


" improvement of 


- 


" pot. 


- 


- 


74 


Seedsmen and Nurserymen, 




" soils and compost, 


- 


76 


Shrubs, deciduous flowering 




" list, - . 


_ 


_ 


77 


*' evergreen. 


- 


" potting and re 


-potting, 


82 


Strawberry, 


- 


" watering. 


- 


- 


83 


Salsafy, 




" stands, for 


- 


- 


84 


Scurvy Grass, - 


- 


Tarsley, 


. 


- 


157 


Sorrel, - - - 


- 


Parsnip, 


- 


- 


157 


Spinach, 


- 


Pepper, 


- 


- 


158 


Squash, 


- 


Pea, 


. 


- 


159 


Soil, . - - 


- 


Potatoe, 


. 


- 


163 


Soap, whale oil solution. 


- 


" varieties, 


- 


- 


164 


Tree Department, '- 


- 


Peach, - 


- 


- 


108 


" shade, - 


- 


Pear, 


- 


. 


114 


" evergreen. 


- 


" gathering and keeping, 


119 


" transplanting shade. 




Plum, - 


- 


- 


119 


" " evergreen 


, 


Plat, grass. 


- 


- 


73 


" ornamental, 


- 


Pigs, keeping, - 


- 


- 


214 


" insects, 


- 


Poultry, 


- 


- 


215 


" pruning, 


- 


Quince, 


- 


- 


124 


" salve, - 


- 


Raspberry, 


. 


- 


125 


" diseases, 


- 


Radish, 


. 


- 


158 


" gum, 


- 


" horse, - 


- 


- 


152 


*' wounds, 


- 


Rose, Boursault, 


- 


. 


42 


" canker. 


- 


" Remontant, 


- 


_ 


40 


Tenants, duties of 


_ 


" Multillard, 


- 


. 


43 


Trenching, 


- 


" Prairie, - 


- 


- 


43 


Tomato, 


- 


" list of hardy bush. 


- 


44 


Turnip, 


- 


" protecting in winter. 


- 


45 


Vegetable Department, 


- 


" removing protection, 


- 


46 


" hoeing and killing weeds 


" pruning, - 


- 


— 


46 


*' seeds, - 


_ 


« propagation and 


management, 47 


" varieties. 


- 


" destructive insects. 


- 


48 


" books, - 


- 


" growing in pots, 


- 


- 


50 


" purchasing. 


- 


" planting, - 


- 


- 


47 


" raising seeds, - 


- 


♦' daily. 


. 


. 


37 


" scalding seeds. 


- 


" tea scented. 


. 


. 


37 


age, - - 


- 


•' bourbon, - 


. 


. 


38 


" remarks, 


_ 


*' noisette, - 


_ 


. 


39 


Weeds, hoeing and killing. 


_ 


♦' musk-scented, 


- 


- 


41 


Wounds, 


- 



FAoa 

41 

42 

42 

159 

14 

17 

18 

19 

32 

51 

54 

128 

160 

160 

161 

161 

161 

76 

196 

173 

175 

176 

177 

178 

181 

182 

183 

197 

199 

203 

203 

203 

16 

19 

162 

166 

140 

, 16b 

171 

171 

172 

169 

170 

171 

171 

167 

168 

203 



THE 



COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMEllICA. 



We will begin with a few preliminary items in 
respect to the general Culture of the Garden. 

The cottage garden is the allotment of land at- 
tached to every country residence, intended for the 
pleasure, profit, and recreation of the indwellers of 
the cottage. Eating one's own fruits and fresh vege- 
tables; performing the different operations of the 
garden, throughout the endless variety of its pro- 
ducts and appearance; watching nature in her pro- 
gress through the year, refining and moralizing the 
young, and forming their minds to habits of industry 
and usefulness ; — all these things improve the neigh- 
bourhood and country at large, and exalt the national 

character. - „ 

2 ^"^ 



14 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



SOCIETIES. 

As there are influential and well-disposed persons 
in every community, willing to do good whenever 
an opportunity offers itself, we call on them to assist 
in the improvement of the cottage garden. Estab- 
lish a saving society in every township of every 
county, in every state in the Union ; admit as mem- 
bers, persons of all ages, sex, and station ; and let 
each pay in from half a dime to half a dollar per 
month, according to their circumstances. Let the 
rich give a few dollars per annum, to encourage the 
cause : let the society be broken up every year, say 
on the first of November or March, and let the mana- 
gers appropriate the moneys accruing to the purchase 
of plants, seeds, implements, and horticultural books, 
to be distributed among the members, in proportion 
to their monthly subscriptions. The implements and 
books may be kept by the society, to lend out to the 
members in rotation, or, as they may need them ; 
and a portion of some horticultural book should be 
read to the members at every monthly meeting. Such 
societies would be a stimulus towards the improve- 
ment of the cottage garden ; from which an emula- 
tion would arise in different states, counties, town- 
ships, and individuals, to out-vie each other. Every 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 15 

person wishes to have a good garden, but those in 
country places have not always the convenience of 
nurseries near them, and must send to cities for a 
tree, a rose, or paper of seeds. But when societies 
are formed, large quantities may be sent for, making 
price and transportation cheaper; while gratis con- 
tributions will assist every one to stock his garden, 
and give him something w^orth cultivating. Every 
state and county should give so much every year, to 
encourage cottagers to make for themselves pleasant 
and happy homes. Nothing has a stronger tendency 
to soften the minds of the poor, and create grateful 
feelings in our hearts, than kindness from those above 
our stations; and it is a duty incumbent on those 
who have abundance, to assist those in need : "He 
that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." 



DUTIES OF LANDLORDS. 

Landlords, being generally richer than their ten- 
ants, should be first in showing their liberality in 
endeavours to make iheir tenants comfortable. They 
should select healthful sites, and erect neat and con- 
venient houses ; with grape-vine arbours attached, 



16 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



SO as to reach over and shade the back kitchens. A 
well should be sunk in the dividing fence between 
every two tenants, unless a free well of easy access 
is close by. The lot should be well fenced and 
manured, and trenched or deep ploughed ; the gar- 
den laid out and stocked ; the walks edged and 
graveled or tan-barked ; a patch near to the house 
sodded or sowed with grass, for a bleaching green, 
with a strong post in each corner, eight feet long, 
sunk tw^o feet, to fasten the clothes lines on ; a gar- 
den of an eighth of an acre might have eight fruit 
trees, six currants, and six raspberry bushes, four 
goosberry bushes, fifty strawberry plants, six flower- 
ing shrubs, twelve roses, two grape-vines, two street 
shade trees, twelve climbing plants, etc. He w4)o 
attends to the above duties in a proper manner, will 
find his tenants generally apt to take care of, and 
improve his property, for their own benefit and com- 
fort, and be punctual in the payment of their rents. 



DUTIES OF TENANTS. 



By the laws of honesty and discretion, every ten- 
ant should be as careful of his landlord's property as 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 17 



if it were his own; as, by so doing, he will add to 
his own comfort and prolit. He should manure the 
garden every year, and crop it in a proper manner; 
ke.p weeds from seeding; prune fruit trees, grape- 
vines, shrubs, climbers, etc. ; procure flower and 
vegetable seeds, and any desirable plants ; be punc- 
tual in the payment of rents; make trifling repairs 
when needed; make no complaints to landlords i 
stay as long in the same house as possible ; and 
agree well with the neighbours. Tenants attending 
properly to these duties, wdll be happy in themselves, 
get the respect of their neighbours, and find their 
landlords generally willing to do any thing reasonable 
for their comfort and convenience. 



SITES. 

The most healthful sites are on elevated lands, at 
a distance from still creeks and navigable rivers. 
The air in such situations is always dry and bracing ; 
and when heavy rains fall, they are imbibed by the 
earth, and given out as nourishment to the plants 
growing thereon. 

The most unhealthy sites are on low marshy lands, 



18 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



near muddy creeks, and large rivers that frequently 
overflow their banks ; or near stagnant pools of wa- 
ter. In such situations the air is always moist, and 
the evaporation of such waters produce many noxious 
gases hurtful to human health. 



SOILS. 

The earth or soil is the foundation on which the 
vegetable temple is to be erected ; and on its nature 
and preparation much of our after success depends. 
The best soil for most garden crops, is a light brown 
loam, having a fair proportion of sand in it to keep 
it mellow. Such a soil on a flat or level, is best 
when resting on a sandy or gravelly subsoil. If on 
a declivity, it is best when the subsoil is inclining to 
clay. The two extremes of bad soils are, sharp sands 
and stiff clays. Sands are hot and dry — clays cold 
and wet. Black loams are not always very fertile ; 
they contain too little of those ingredients most bene- 
ficial to plants. Soils having much irony matter in 
them are seldom very fertile — iron in any shape 
being hurtful to most plants. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN Ul" AMERICA. 19 



HOW TO IMPROVE SOILS. 

Sandy soils can be made fertile by frequent dress- 
ings of clay, or muck from swamps and river sides, 
or the cleanings of ponds and ditches — and enriched 
with cattle and hog manures, lime, bleached wood- 
ashes, plaster of paris, marl, etc. Clayey soils can 
be much improved by frequent dressings of sharp 
sand, stone coal ashes, lime, etc., and manured Avith 
long barn yard and fresh horse manures. They 
should be dug up rough in fall, and left so all winter. 



TRENCHING. 

Trenching is very beneficial to trees and other 
woody plants that strike deep root in the ground. 
Dig out a trench two feet wide, and at least fifteen 
inches deep, and carry the earth to the other end of 
the garden, to close the trench when it gets there. 
Line of!' another trench two feet wide, and dig the 
earth of that into the open trench, putting the top 
soil undermost, and subsoil uppermost. If the soil 



20 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

is of the right kind, it will only need a good portion 
of manure mixed in with it, in the process. If it be 
sand, it should have three inches thick of clay or 
muck in the bottom of the trenches; and a quantity 
of that as well as manure mixed with the soil. If it 
is clay, put three inches thick of stones, bones, bro- 
ken bricks, or coarse gravels, in the bottom of each 
trench ; and mix sand and long manure with the soil. 



UNDER DRAINING. 

Every one must be impressed with the importance 
of under draining, from the knowledge that low, flat, 
and springy lands are wet and sour, and unhealthy 
to live on ; and that waters remaining long on the 
surface, evaporate into the air and cause many 
diseases. There are different modes and materials 
for under draining, of which the following are ex- 
amples. 

BOX DRAIN. 

This kind of drain may be dug three feet deep, 
eighteen inches wide at top, and fourteen inches at 
bottom ; two stones of equal sizes are set on edge 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF A3IERICA. 21 

close to the sides of the drain, and bent over to lean 
on each other like an arch. Smaller stones are 
packed behind them, to brace and keep them toge- 
ther ; the drain is then filled with stones to within 
fourteen inches of the surface ; straw, shavings, etc., 
are laid over the stones two inches thick, and to pre- 
vent the earth from running down among the stones, 
which would choke up the drain ; the earth is then 
filled in, and the drain is finished. 

RAMBLING DRAIN. 

This drain may be of the same depth and width as 
the box drain. Round stones, gathered off cultivated 
fields or river sides, are thrown in at random, to 
wdthin fourteen inches of the surface, and covered 
with straw, etc., and the earth filled in. 

tile drain. 

This drain is dug two feet deep, fourteen inches 
wide at top, and eight inches at bottom. Thin hem- 
lock boards are laid along the bottom, and arched 
tiles, eighteen inches long, four inches high, and four 
inches wide, are laid on the boards all along the 
drain; straw, etc., packed in at the sides and over 
them, four inches thick. The earth is then filled in, 
softly at first, so as not to displace or break the tiles. 



22 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

The drains should be made in the walks of the 
garden, which will always keep them dry, and the 
stones will not then be disturbed with the spade. 



MANURES. 

Manures are different in their natures, and suita- 
ble for various kinds of plants, and various kinds of 
soils. Those most soluble in water give the most 
immediate effect to plants; they are dissolved by the 
rains, and become incorporated at once with the soil. 
Cattle, hog, and night manures are easily dissolved, 
and give immediate effect ; long, strawy manures 
may keep stiff soils open, and allow the roots of 
plants to run more freely in search of nourishment ; 
and greedy feeders, such as corn, potatoes, etc., 
which have large spungoles, are much benefitted by 
them, — but it is the second or third year before they 
become fairly incorporated wuth the soil. Manures 
of a hot or salty nature should be applied to lands in 
fall. Lime, soot, live ashes, pigeon, poultry, 
slaughter house, and horse manures are hot; night 
manure and sea-weed are salty. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 23 



APPLICATION OF MANURES 

There has been much discussion among practical 
men, about the proper application of manures. Some 
assert, that manures applied to lands in fall, should 
be immediately dug in ; because they lose much oi 
their fertilizing qualities by evaporation, when they 
remain long on the surface ; while if immediately 
dug in, they sooner become insorporated with the soil. 
Others again assert, that manures rather imbibe than 
lose fertilizing matter, when exposed to the atmos- 
phere in winter ; as there is but little evaporation 
going on then ; and that when manures are dug in 
in fall, the rains and snows wash the soluble matter 
too deep for the benefit of young plants, raised from 
seeds, which consequently get stunted in their inf^incy 
and never attain their natural size : whereas, on (he 
contrary, when they remain on the surface all win- 
ter, the rains and snows carry the soluble matter to a 
proper depth to benefit all kinds of plants, by the 
time vegetation com.mences in spring. It must be 
admitted, that all manures must be decomposed be- 
fore they can incorporate with the soil, and become 
food for plants ; and as all substances decompose 
more rapidly when exposed to the atmosphere, than 
when buried in the earth, so must manures. We 



24 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



have always thought it best, to manure all lands, ex- 
cept clay, in the fall, and leave it on the surface all 
winter, and dig it in, in spring. 

Barn-yard manure, when well rotted, is suitable 
for nearly all kinds of plants and soils. 

Horse manure, when the horses are much fed on 
grain, is hot and pow^erful in its undecomposed state 
— detrimental to woody plants, and poison to all 
conniferous trees ; but when well rotted, one of the 
richest of all manures. 

Cattle manure is good at all times. 

Hog manure is good at all times. 

Night manure is the richest of all manures, spread 
thin. Apply it in fall. 

Slaughter house manure should be applied in fall 
• — spread thin. 

Pigeon manure — sow three quarts per perch. 

Poultry manure — sow four quarts per perch. 

Sea-weed is a great stimulant. 

Salt — sow a pint per perch, in fall. 

Charcoal dust — sow three quarts per perch. 

Bone dust— sow two quarts per perch. 

Shell dust — sow two quarts per perch. 

Lime — sow a peck per perch, in fall. 

Live wood-ashes — sow a peck per perch, in fall. 

Stone-coal ashes — sow two pecks per perch, in fall. 

Marl — spread two bushels per perch. 

Hops, from breweries — tw^o bushels per perch. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AME.IICA. 25 



Grains, from breweries — two bushels per perch. 

Yeast, from breweries — ten gallons per perch. 

Guano — we have used much of this manure, in 
various ways, and to various crops ; but have not 
witnessed any of its good effects. 

Street sweepings are an excellent manure. 

Vegetable mould is decayed leaves, weeds, and 
other vegetables ; it is the best of all manures. 

Whole bones and shells, horn shavings, leather 
parings, etc., decay very slowly, and cannot be much 
reckoned on as manures. 

Soot — sow two quarts per perch, in fall. 



LAYING OUT. 

As the sizes of gardens and minds of people are so 
various, it would be a difficult task to lay down a 
plan to suit all tastes. Those we address are the 
owners and occupiers of cottages, with gardens from 
one perch to one acre, which will be according to 
locations and circumstances. A neat garden can be 
made, and many choice flowering plants grown, on 
one perch; and where there is an acre, much fine 
taste can be displayed. The walks should be made 



26 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA, 

for the convenience of the family, and to give the 
garden a pleasing appearance ; symmetry should be 
prevalent throughout, and the greatest economy 
practised in the stocking and cropping. 

Styles. — The rich gentleman may have his broad 
domain finely diversified with wood lots, open fields, 
deep ravines, creeks, cataracts, canals, rock works, 
fancy or rustic bridges, etc. ; and the wide extended 
lawn, with its dark green sod, which surrounds his 
mansion, may be beautifully interspersed with wind- 
ing walks and deciduous and evergreen trees. The 
beauty of the latter will consist in the features of the 
style in which his place is laid out ; if in the garden- 
esque or graceful style, it will be found in their erect 
habits, symmetrical forms, and gigantic statures. 
There will be the horse-chesnut, with its broad-reach- 
ing, horizontal branches ; the proud tulip tree, with 
its lofty head reaching almost to the clouds ; the 
weeeping willow, with its hypochondriac branches 
sweeping the ground ; the noble oak, a gigantic spe- 
cimen of the king of the forest. If in the picturesque 
style, the trees will stand in groups, contrasting the 
sizes and colours of their foliage, commingling, and 
making a harmonious whole. If in the geometrical 
style, the trees will stand in lines or figures ; some 
cut into different shapes and forms, from a seat to a 
temple. If in the rustic style, the beauties of the 
trees consist in their ivy and mossy trunks, their lean- 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 27 

ing habits, crooked limbs and other deformities. 
There maybe rivulets, whose waters ripple their way 
among moss-covered stones, and here and there dash 
themselves heedlessly over some projecting rock, 
from which their murmurs will be heard a short dis 
tance off. There is a pleasure and a beauty in all 
styles, by which the man of money and leisure may 
amuse himself; but there is far more real pleasure in 
the neatly laid out, the well stocked and well kept 
cottage garden, where every thing is under the im- 
mediate care and observation of its owner. 



BOTANY. 

Botany divides plants by two grand arrangements, 
(the Jussieuen system and the Linnean system,) into 
classes and orders, genera and species, hybrids and 
varieties. 

The Jussieuen or natural system classes plants toge- 
ther that have a near relation to each other ; for ex- 
ample, the henbane, mandrake, nightshade, and 
daturea (all poisonous plants) belong to the same 
order. 

The Linnean or artificial system, classes plants ac 



28 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

cording to the structure of their flower, the number 
and arrangement of their stamens and pistils ; so that 
the name of every plant can be ascertained when it 
is in bloom. 

GENERA AND SPECIES. 

Genera is the family ; species the individuals of 
the family. Acer is the generic name for maple. 
Saccharinum is the specific name for sugar ; so the 
sugar maple is a member of the maple family. A 
species will always produce the same from seeds, 
unless it gets impregnated with some other species. 



HYBRIDS AN© VARIETIES. 

Hybrids and varieties are the production of two 
species, either belonging to the same or different 
genera. If an Azalia were impregnated with a Rho- 
dodendron, the young plants raised from the seeds 
might be different from both parents — Azalias or 
Rhododendrons : so they would be hybrids. But 
if the daily rose were impregnated with the moss 
rose, the plants produced from the seeds might be 
unlike both parents, but they would still be varieties 
of the rose — although, indeed, they may vulgarly be 
called hybrids. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA, 29 



, FRUITFUL ORGANS OF PLANTS. 

This is the most important item in botany for the 
cottager to know, and which can only be read in the 
open flower or bloom. The green leaf or leaves en- 
closing the flower bud before it opens, and appearing 
under it when expanded, are called calyx or cup ; 
the coloured leaf or leaves of the flower are called 
corolla. The process or processes immediately in- 
side of the corolla are called stamens, and are the 
male part of the plant ; they consist of two parts, the 
filaments or threads, and the anthers or heads ; the 
long tube in the centre of the flower is called pistil, 
and is the female part of the plant. It consists of 
three parts — the germen or rudiments of seeds and 
fruit, the style or tube, stigma which crowns the 
style. The anthers contain a dust or flour called 
Pollen ; and when the flower has been a certain time 
expanded, the anthers burst and the Pollen flies out 
and lights on the pistil, which has a strong attraction 
for it, and carries it down to the seed vessel called 
Pericarp, and there makes the seeds. There are 
some plants which are entirely male plants, and some 
female plants. Male plants can never bear fruit nor 
seeds; — the female may bear fruit, but not seeds; 
unless it gets impregnated with a male plai t of the 



30 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



same species, growing near to it. When that is the 
case, it will yield seeds and fruit in abundance. If 
the weather be very windy or rainy at the time that 
the plants are in bloom, the pollen is destroyed, which 
renders the plant unfruitful for that season. Exam- 
ples of this are experienced in years that there is a 
scarcity of fruit. If the weather be calm and dry 
while the plants are in bloom, that will be a plenti- 
ful year of fruit. 



r\j>~'.,^\.^^- 



BOTANIST AND FLORIST. 

The botanist and florist are distinct persons, and 
their theories are quite opposite to one another. The 
botanist delights in nature — the florist in art. The 
botanist is at home in all parts of the world where 
plants are in bloom — the florist's world is the flower 
garden. The botanist is amused with the stamens 
and pistils — the florist with the flower leaves. The 
botanist takes a plant to study its structure and na- 
ture—the florist takes a plant to triple the size and 
number of its flower leaves. The botanist considers 
a plant with a double flower a monster — the florist 
considers it a beauty. A double flower is useless to 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 31 

the botanist — it is a prize to the florist. The bota- 
nist loves to see plants in their natural characters — 
the florist loves to see their characters altered by 
hybridization and extra culture. Species are the 
hobby of the botanist — varieties the hobby of the 
florist. 



BOTANICAL AND COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS, 

Every cottager should study to learn the botanical 
names, as well as the common names, of all the 
plants grown in his garden. Common names are 
different in different places — botanical names are the 
same in all languages and in all countries over the 
world. No person should purchase a plant unless it 
is labelled ; and the lable should be preserved and 
renewed, until the name of the plant is fully com- 
mitted to memory. Every cottager should have a 
catalogue of all the plants he grows. The best plan 
is to draw a map of the garden, and write on it the 
name of each plant, and where it grows in the gar- 
den. This map could hang up in the housg*, and 
would be an excellent reference, both in summer 
and winter. It is better to purchase seeds and plants 
from respectable seedsmen and nurserymen, than to 



32 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

purchase them under false names in the public mar- 
kets. It is the duty of all nurserymen and seedsmen 
to keep their seeds and plants all properly labeled, 
and be strict in their nomenclature. The labels 
should be written in a large, plain hand, and not 
with a dash and scribble, as is often the case in public 
markets. What a great pleasure it is to a man him- 
self, and how intelligent he appears to others, when 
he can name every plant grown in his garden. 



SEEDSMEN AND NURSERYMEN. 

We have purchased many seeds and plants from 
the following seedsmen and nurserymen, who are 
both scientific and practical; and have found them 
punctual with their orders, strict in their nomencla- 
tures, and honest men. 

D. Landreth, seeds and nurseryman, Philadelphia. 
R. Buist, " " " 

J. Ritchie, nurseryman and florist, " 

J. Fulton, " " " 

A. Dryburgh, '' " " 

J. Dick, *' " " 

J. Sheerwocd, '' " " 



a 


a 


li 


u 


<c 


(C 


a 


a 


li 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 33 

R. Kilvington, florist, Philadelphia. 

P. Mackinzie, '' *' 

J. Hog, nurseryman and florist, New York 

W. Read, '' " <' 

M. Floy, " " '' 

A. Hutcheson, " " " 

J. Thorburn, seeds and nurseryman, ^' 

Mr. Parsons, nurseryman, Flushing, Long Island. 

Mr. Bloodgood, 

Mr. Prince, 

Mr. Winter, 

A. J. Downing, nurseryman and florist, Newburg, 
New York. 

J. Wilson & Co., nurserymen and florist, Albany, 
New York. 

W. Thorburn, seedsman and florist, Albany, N. Y. 

Messrs. Hovey & Co., seeds and nurserymen, 
Boston, Massachusetts. 

Mr. Kenrick, nurseryman, Boston, Mass. 

Mr. Winship, '' '' '<■ 

T. Hancock, nurseryman, Burlington, N. J. 

R. Fetters, nurseryman, Camden, N. J. 

J. Reeve, nurseryman, Salem, N. J. 

Mr. Feast, nurseryman and florist, Baltimore, Md. 

There may be a great many nurserymen and seeds- 
men with whom we are unacquainted, who may also 
be strict, honest men. Those w^e have mentioned 
have long been established, and do an extensive 



34 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

business ; but this notice is not intended to benefit 
them, but to benefit cottagers who may not know 
w^here to send for plants, etc. We would willingly 
give a list of all the seedsmen and nurserymen in the 
Union, if we knew their names and residences. 



HOT BEDS. 

Every cottage garden in America might have its 
hot bed. Make the sash six feet long, and three feet 
wide; the outer frame three inches broad, the laths 
all running lengthwise, seven inches apart; glaze it 
with glass seven by nine inches, the panes to lap each 
other a quarter of an inch, so as to carry off the rains 
without leaking through ; make a box to fit the sash, 
three feet deep at back, and twenty-eight inches in 
front, the sides sloping, and a piece of scantling in 
each corner to nail the boards on and keep it firm. 
The sash should be flush with the outsides of the 
box, and project an inch over at front and back. 
Nail thin strips on the sides of the box, to be as high 
as the upper side of the sash. To prevent its being 
displaced or blown off by high winds, sink the box 
eighteen inches, bank it up to the edge and sod it 
around : make a thin lid, the size of the sash, to 
cover it on cold nights. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 35 



MANAGEMENT OF HOT BEDS. 

About the first of March, fill the box with horse 
manure — put on the sash, and in two or three days 
the manure will be well heated ; then push down the 
sash eight inches from behind, to let the rank steam 
escape. The next day shake up the manure, level 
and tramp it, so as to be twelve inches below the 
edges of the box ; put in six inches of earth all over 
the bed, and put the sash on tight : and in twenty- 
four hours more, sow the seeds, rake the earth fine, 
and draw shallow drills from back to front, six inches 
apart; sow the seeds in them, cover up, and press 
the earth firm with the hand ; put on the sash, and 
cover with the lid over night. If there is a rank 
steam in the bed the next day, tilt the sash one or 
two inches behind, put a stick in to keep it up ; let 
it close down at night, unless the steam is very rank. 
In forty-eight hours after the seeds are sowed, many 
of the young plants will be up ; after this, the s?sh 
must be tilted more or less every day, according to 
the weather, to admit air to the plants. When a 
white mould appears in the bed, it is a sign that too 
little air is admitted-: the sash should be tilted higher, 
or pushed down from behind ; and when the weather 
gets warm, it can be taken off altogether on sunny 



36 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

days and put on at nights. This will harden the 
plants before they are set out into the open ground. 
When the bed needs water, make it lukewarm and 
apply it through the nose of a watering pot, in the 
forenoon. 



FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

As it is both fashionable and proper to address the 
women first, we will begin with the flowers — that 
being their department of the garden. " the sweet 
creature," Burns said of his, '^ It eases me, it pleases 
me, to mention but her name — it warms me, it charms 
me, it puts me in a flame." 

The rose being the queen of flowers, "the sunny 
garden's pride," it ought to stand at the head of the 
list ; but we have not space to expatiate on its beauty, 
fragrance, and history. Those which flower once a 
year, are delightful in their time, but are gone in a 
few weeks ; whereas, the everblooming are equally 
as beautiful and fragrant, and cheer us with their 
flowers from May till December; and even through 
the winter if we give them shelter. Many of them 
are different in their characters, habits, and natures, 
which causes them to be classed separately. 

" How sweetly do their odours flow, 
Diffused on every side." 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 37 



ROSA INDICA, OR DAILY ROSE. 

This is a species of many varieties — as frequently 
seen in the cottage garden as in that of the mansion. 
They delight in rich sandy loam — but will thrive in 
almost every kind of soil, and require a covering of 
straw north of New York city. The following are 
free growers, profuse bloomers, and their flowers 
double and fragrant. They can be purchased at from 
three to fiv^e dollars per dozen. 

Agrippina, bright crimson; Cels, large blush ; Gre- 
nadier, large pink ; Hortensia, light rose ; Indica, 
common daily rose ; Indica Alba, white daily rose ; 
Louis Philippe, dark crimson ; Lady Warrender, 
superb white ; Mrs. Bosanquet, waxy blush, superb ; 
Napoleon, fine rose ; Prince Eugene, scarlet crimson ; 
Reine de Lombardie, cherry red. 



ROSE INDICA ODORATA, OR TEA SCENTED ROSE. 

This delightful odoriferous class is best adapted for 

a southern climate or pot culture. They delight in 

4 



38 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



a rich sandy loam, and will flourish on a heavy loatii. 
They require a covering of straw in winter, north of 
Philadelphia, when grown in the open ground. The 
following are free bloomers, and their flowers very 
double and fragrant. 

Aurora, very large blush ; Caroline, creamy blush ; 
Devoniensis, large blush superb ; Goubault, rosy 
blush ; Glori de Hardi, fine pink ; La Sylphide, rosy 
buff"; Madam Desprez, pure white ; Mansais, rosy 
buff"; Odoratissima, large blush ; Triomphe de Lue- 
embourg, rosy blush; William Wallace, large pale 
blush. — From five to nine dollars per dozen. 



ROSA BOURBONIANA, OR BOURBON ROSE. 

It is said that the original species of this class was 
found growing on the isle of Bourbon, and was 
thence taken to France, where hundreds of varieties 
have been raised from it. They are of a strong, 
robust habit, very hardy and profuse in bloom. They 
delight in a loamy soil, but will thrive in almost any 
kind of soil ; they will be the better for a covering 
of straw north of New York city. The following are 
very choice : 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 39 

Acidalie, large white ; Dr. Roques, dark crimson ; 
c General Dubourg, large pink ; c Glori de Rosamene, 
bright scarlet ; Hermosa, superb pink ; Henry Clay, 
rosy blush ; Henri Plantifr, deep rose ; Le Phoenix, 
rosy crimson ; c Madame Desprez, bright rose ; Paul 
Joseph, rich crimson ; Queen, waxy blush ; Souvenir 
de la Malmaison, cream. — Six dollars per dozen. 



NOISETTE ROSES. 

The original parent of this class was raised at 
Charleston, South Carolina, by Mr. Noisette, whose 
name it bears. He sent it to France, where hundreds 
have been raised from it. They delight in a sandy, 
rich loam, but will grow on most kinds of soils ; their 
flowers are small but are produced in large clusters, 
and are nearly all of a climbing nature ; they require 
covering with straw north of New York city. The 
following are rapid growers, free flowerers and very 
fragrant. Price from four to eight dollars per dozen. 

Aimee Vibert, superb white; c Camellia Rouge, 
bright red ; c Cloth of Gold, bright sulphur superb ; 
cChampany , pale pink; cFellenberg, bright crimson; 



10 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

c Jane, pure white ; cJaune Desprez, rosy buff; c Lee 
Monstrasa, pale blush ; c Ophire, copper colour ; c Sir 
Walter Scott, bright rose ; c Solfatare, bright yellow; 
c Sultana, bright crimson.. 



REMONTANT ROSES, OR HYBRID PERPETUAL. 

This class has been produced from between the 
Daily roses and Bourbons. They are very hardy, 
and their flowers are as large, double, and fragrant 
as the old cabbage rose ; they bloom from May till 
hard frost, and stand the winter without protection at 
Boston. Twelve dollars per dozen. 

c Compte de Paris, rosy purple ; EmmaDampierre, 
bright red ; Lady Fordwich, clear pink ; Louis Bona- 
parta, rosy lilac ; Lady Alice Peel, rosy carmine ; 
c Madame Laffay, deep rose ; Prudence Roeser, pink ; 
Princess Helena, bright rose; c Prince Albert, rich 
crimson ; c Rivers, large crimson ; Reine de la Guili- 
otiere, violet crimson ; Rose de la Riene, bright rose. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 41 



MUSK-SCENTED ROSES, 

These are of thrifty growth, producing flowers in 
large clusters, without intermission, from June till 
Christmas, and emit a pleasant musky odor. The 
plants require covering north of New York city, but 
seem to thrive on any soil. From thirty to fifty 
cents each. 

c Moschata superba, pure white ; c Princesse de Nas- 
sau, pure white ; c Herbemont's, large white ; c Red 
musk cluster, red. 



PERPETUAL DAMASK ROSES. 

This is a hardy class of roses, producing large dou- 
ble flowers the whole growing season, and do best 
on heavy loam. They stand the winter, without pro- 
tection, at Boston. Nine dollars per dozen. 

Claire du Chatelet, bright rose ; Du, Rio or Lee's, 
rich crimson ; Jenny Audio, rich rose ; La Reine 

rose ; Palmyra, fine blush ; Monthly Damask, pink. 

4* 



42 IHE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



MICROPHYLLA ROSES. 

This is a curious class, with small leaves, mossy 
buds, and thorny stems ; delight in heavy loam, and 
require covering north of New York city. 

Maria Leonida, rich white ; Rosea, bright rose ; 
Purpurea, purple. From thirty to fifty cents each. 

Note. — The above classes bloom all summer. Those marked 
" c " arc climbers — well adapted for covering fences, arbours, 
buildings, etc. 



CLIMBING ROSES THAT FLOWER ONCE A 

YEAR. 



BOURSAULT. 

This class is of a climbing habit, making shoofs 
ten feet long in a season, and standing the winter 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 43 

uninjured in the coldest regions of America ; flourish 
in every soil. 

Alba or White, fine blush; Perpurea, purple ; Iner- 
mis, bright pink. From thirty to fifty cents each. 



MULTIFLORA ROSE. 

This class is of a climbing habit, making shoots 
ten feet long in a season — very double and fragrant; 
thriving in every soil and climate. 

Alba, white ; Lawre Davoust, pink ; Cottage rose, 
white, pink and crimson ; Grevillii, white, pink and 
crimson. From thirty to fifty cents each. 



PRAIRIE ROSE. 



This is a native class of roses — the original having 
been found in a western prairie, — only a single 
flower, and long, flexible shoots. Mr. Feast, of Bal- 
timore, has raised some very superb varieties from it. 



44 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

The following produce large double flowers, in great 
clusters ; so much so, as, when in bloom, to hide the 
whole foliage. They are all of a climbing nature, 
making shoots twenty feet long in a season, growing 
on any soil, — standing the winter in the coldest 
regions, and blooming a month later than other roses. 
Baltimore Belle, rich white ; Queen of the Prai- 
ries, bright rose ; Superba, pale pink ; Pallida, pale 
blush ; Michigan, rosy purple ; Kentucky, fine pink. 
From thirty to fifty cents each. 



HARDY BUSH ROSES THAT BLOOM ONCE A YEAR. 

Many varieties of Moss Rose, Cabbage Rose, Rose 
of France, Yellow Rose, Marbled Rose, White Gar- 
den Rose, Damask Rose, Hybrid Chinese Rose. — 
From three to six dollars per dozen. 



THK COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 45 



TROTECTING HALF HARDY ROSES IN WINTER. 

As many everblooming roses require protection in 
winter, in different latitudes, the following ^n will 
assist the inexperienced. Late in fall, get a strong 
stick as long as the height of the rose, drive it firmly 
in close to its side, tie up all the branches of the 
rose around it ; then cover it with long straw, begin- 
ning at the bottom ; place the straw in a standing 
manner around it, and tie neatly up with twine. If 
more than one length of the straw is needed, let the 
upper tiers lap over the lower — so as to carry off the 
rains and melting snows. It is not the frost that kills 
the plants, but the sun, when they are in a frozen 
state ; so the covering is only to shade the plants 
from the light when in a frozen state ; but when the 
straw is put on too thick, it musts in wet weather, 
and kills the plants. We may cover half an inch 
thick at Philadelphia, one inch thick at New York 
city, and two inches at Albany and Boston. We 
have used boxes, barrels, and branches of evergreen 
trees, but have never found any thing equal to straw 
— with manure over the roots. 



46 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



REMOVING THE WINTER PROTECTION OF ROSES. 

Tn^winter covering should nerer be removed 
until the frost is entirely out of the ground, and not 
until after March. A wet or cloudy day should be 
taken for the removal. The frosts get through the 
straw and into the shoots of the rose, and it takes as 
long to draw it out of them as out of the ground. If 
they were uncovered while the frost was in the shoots, 
they would likely all die. 

The above directions are applicable to other plants 
that need covering in winter. 



PRUNING ROSES. 

A ROSE left to nature would soon become a confu- 
sion of shoots — the flowers would be few, small, and 
single. The finest flowers are produced on young 
shoots, of the previous year's growth. So all shoots 
over two years old, should be cut out every spring. 
If the plant is a bush, prune it in a neat and symme- 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 47 



trical manner ; if it covers a fence, pillar, arbour, 
etc., train up the young shoots where the old ones 
were : but do not cross one shoot over another. The 
shoots on a fence or building should be four inches 
apart. 



PLANTING ROSES. 

Plant out all everblooming roses in spring ; those 
that bloom once a year should be planted out in fall. 
Dig out large holes eighteen inches deep, and mix 
the earth with one-third of its size of very short 
manure, or black mould from the woods. Fill up 
the holes to nine inches deep, place the plants in 
them in a way that all their roots wdll lay out in their 
natural positions ; fill up the holes and tramp the 
earth firm about their roots. 



PROPAGATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ROSES. 

Roses are propagated by seeds, layers, budding, 
cuttings, and graftings; all kinds do best on rich, 
mellow ground. The flowers, as soon as they fade. 



48 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

a 

should be cut off; the plants will grow more and 
bloom better, when they are not allowed to bear 
seeds, and kept free from insects. In purchasing or 
sending to nurseries for roses, the name of each rose 
should be accompanied with the name of the class or 
tribe it belongs to; as there are roses of the same 
names in different classes. For example, there is the 
Tea Madame Despraz, and the Bourbon Madam 
Despraze : the former white and tender — the latter 
hardy and of a rose colour. It may be remarked 
here, that the lighter the colour the rose is, the 
sweeter-scented it is; and all of deep bright colours 
have least scent. White roses are sweetest scented 
— scarlet roses have but little scent. And this is the 
case with all kinds of flowers. 



INSECTS DESTRUCTIVE TO ROSES. 

The slug preys on the leaves. To destroy it, 
syringe the plants in the evenings with whale oil 
soap in water, in the proportion of one pound of soap 
mixed in eight gallons of water,* and standing two 

* This mixture was first discovered by M^ David Hag-g-ers- 
ton, a practical frardener, near Boston ; for which he got the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society's prize of $100. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 49 



days after mixing. The rose-bug preys on the open 
flowers ; the whale oil soap and water will also 
destroy it ; but the best plan is to go over the plants 
in the mornings, with a pail of hot water, and shake 
the bugs into it. We knew a lady who practised this 
on her country seat, and in three years there was 
hardly a rose-bug to be seen in the neighborhood. 
The green fly preys on the young shoots. An ama- 
teur lady of this city keeps her roses free of the green 
fly by brushing them off" with a long hair brush, once 
a week ; and her roses are always admired. The 
brushing tortures them to death. A fly deposits its 
eggs in the rose buds as soon as they are formed ; a 
maggot is soon hatched, which eats through the bud 
and destroys it. Syringing with whale oil soap and 
water will kill them. A fly deposits its eggs in the 
young shoots in summer, just above a leaf; a maggot 
is soon hatched, which lives on the pith of the shoot, 
and eats upwards. The shoots affected, droop while 
the sun is on them. Cut off" the faded part of the 
shoot, split it up, and there is the rogue. 



50 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



GROWING ROSES IN POTS. 

Roses grown in pots require richer soil and nicer 
treatment, than when grown in the open ground. Get 
sod three inches thick from an old pasture, lay it in 
a heap, and turn it over two or three times in a year, 
breaking it fine every time it is turned over. Three 
parts of this, one part of very short well-rotted ma- 
nure, and one part of sharp sand, mixed well toge- 
ther, are an excellent compost for roses. The ingre- 
dients should be mixed some time before using, so 
that they may become incorporated. If the soil from 
-which the sod is taken be of a sandy nature, no sand 
will be needed in the compost : if it be a stiff clay, 
more sand will be needed. Black mould from the 
woods is better than manure to mix in the compost. 
A quart of fresh slacked lime, or charcoal dust, mixed 
in a bushel of the compost, serves to kill worms and 
other insects which may be in it, and tends to pro- 
mote the health of the plants, and to keep the com- 
post sweet, which is often soured by over-watering. 
After the roses are planted, the compost in the pots 
should be kept moist, but not always saturated, and 
the plants watered over head in the summer even- 
ings. They should not get too much heat, nor too 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 51 

much water in winter, but give them as much light 
as possible. 

For a greater variety, and better description of 
roses, with ample instructions for their culture, the 
reader is referred to the " Rose Manuel," by Robert 
Buist, seeds and nurseryman, Philadelphia. 



HARDY DECIDUOUS FLOWERING SHRUBS. 

Amygdalus Nana, or flowery almond — pink flow- 
ers in April and May, grows three feet high. Azalea 
Pontica — lilac flowers in April and May, four feet 
high. Artimesia Arbortanaides, or southern wood — 
very sweet scented, three feet high. Berberis Aqui- 
folia, or barberry — rich yellow, sweet scented flow- 
ers in May, six feet high. Calycanthus Floridus, or 
sweet shrub — chocolate coloured, sweet scented flow- 
ers from May till August, eight feet high. Clethra 
Alnifolia — white flowers in July and August, five feet 
high. Cedonia Japonica, or scarlet pyrus — scarlet 
flowers in April and May, six feet high. Cedonia 
Japonica Alba, or white pyrus — white flowers in 
April and May, five feet high. Daphne Mezeron — 
purple sweet scented flowers in March and April, two 



52 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

feet high. Duetzia Seabra — white flowers in May 
and June, eight feet high — a splendid shrub. Euony- 
mus Americana, or burning bush — green flowers in 
spring, and red berries in fall ten feet. Hibiscus 
Syriacus, or althea — the double white, double red, 
double striped, and variegated-leaved, all beautiful, 
flower from July till September, ten feet. Kerria 
Japonica, or yellow cochorus— yellow flowers from 
May, eight feet high. Lagerstromia Indica, or crape 
flower — pink flowers from July till September, ten 
feet high ; a most splendid shrub — requires tieing up 
in Philadelphia, in winter. Lagerstromia perpuriea, 
like the indica in every thing but the flower, which 
is purple. Lonicera Tartarica, or Tartarian honey- 
suckle — white flowers in April and May, eight feet 
high ; a very choice shrub. Ligustrum Vulgare, 
privet or prim — white flowers in May and Jnne, 
black berries in fall, eight feet high. A decoction 
of the leaves cures the sore mouth — a very disagree- 
able disease. Magnolia Glauca — sweet scented, 
white flowers, in May and June, twelve feet high. 
Magnolia perpurea — sweet scented, purple flowers 
nearly all summer — a most splendid shrub, twelve 
feet high. Paonia Arboria — the white, the red, and 
sweet scented are splendid ; bloom in April and May, 
flowers seven inches in diameter. Philadelphus, or 
mock orange — the dwarf and the doubled flowered, 
both choice, white sweet scented flowers in Mav ^nd 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 53 

June, six and ten feet high. Rhus Cotinus,orsmock 
tree — purple brown, flowers in June and July. The 
plant looks like a light cloud of smoke when it is in 
bloom. Ribes Aureum, or Missouri currant— yellow, 
sweet scented flowers in April and May, seven feet 
high. Punica Granatum, or scarlet pomegranate — 
double scarlet flowers from June till September ; quite 
hardy in Philadelphia — grows ten feet high — very 
choice. Punica G. Albapleno, or double white pom- 
egranate — also a very choice shrub, and hardy in 
Philadelphia. Robinia Hispida, or rose acacia — 
large racems of pink flowers in May and June, seven 
feet high. Spiroea Hypricifolia — white flowers in 
July and August, five feet high. Syringa, or Lilac — 
there are the common purple and the common white, 
and the Persian purple and white, all beautiful and 
fragrant ; bloom in April and May, from six to ten 
feet high. Symphora Racemosa, or Snowberry — 
pink flowers in spring, and white berries in fall, four 
feet high. Viburnum Opulus, or Snowball tree — 
white flowers in May and June, twelve feet high. 



54 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



EVERGREEN SHRUBS. 

The following can be kept any size and shape by 
clipping; — 

Aucuba Japonica, or Japan Golden tree — of slow 
growth, and likes the shade ; hardy in Philadelphia 
and southward. Buxus Arborescens, or Tree Box- 
wood — the green and the striped leaved are choice. 
Euonymus Japonica — the green leaved, silver striped 
leaved, and golden striped leaved are splended ever- 
greens. Juniperus Virginica, or Red Cedar ; Juni- 
perus Suecica, or Swedish Cedar; Pinus Balsamea, 
or Balm of Gilead ; Thuja Orientalis, or Chinese 
Arborvita ; Thuja Occidentalis, or American. 

There is something peculiarly delightful and pleas- 
ing in the culture of evergreens. They are wdth us 
all the winter, always green and flourishing, defying 
"Boreas with his blast so bauld." 



" How radiant 'mid the wintry waste 
Their groves of emerald verdure smile." 



The following deciduous shrubs were omitted in 
their proper list : 

Hydrangea Hortensis — large pink flowers, from 
July till September — likes the shade ; six feet high. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 55 

Hydrangea Quercifolia — white flowers in July and 
August, eight feet high. Rosa Rubiginosa, or Sweet 
Brier — pink flowers in June. 

" How sweet is the brier wi' its soft folding blossom." 



CLIMBING PLANTS. 

Aristolochia Sipho, or Dutchman's pipe — a rapid 
grower, with large leaves and curious flowers in July 
and August. Bignonia Crucigera, or Trumpet Flow- 
er — an evergreen of rapid growth, with scarlet flow- 
ers from June till August. Bignonia Grandiflara — 
yellow flowers in June and July. Clematis Cerula — 
a charming climber, with violet flowers from June 
till August. Clemates Flammula — of rapid growth, 
with sweet scented, star-like flowers from July till 
November. Hedera Helix, or Irish Ivy — an ever- 
green of rapid growth and dark shining leaves. Jas- 
minum Officinale, or Sweet Jasmine — of rapid growth, 
with white fragrant flowers from June till October. 
Lonicera, or Honeysuckles — the evergreen blooms 
in spring and fall very fragrant — the Monthly sweet 
scented blooms from May till hard frost, yellowish 
white flowers — the Coral has scarlet flowers all sum- 



56 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

mer — the Yellow flowered blooms May and June. 
Perploca Groeca, or Silk Vine — of rapid growth, with 
shining leaves and dim yellow flowers from May till 
July. Passiflora Incarnata — of rapid growth, with 
curious lilac flowers from June till November, and 
thick flashy roots. Wisteria Chinensis — a splendid 
climber, with large racems of light blue flowers, from 
May till August. 

The above are all hardy perennial climbers, very 
beautiful, requiring no care but training and pruning, 
and well adapted for covering unsightly buildings or 
bowers. 

" Oh ! dear is my cottage unclouded with sorrow ; 
Ah ! sweet is the bower my Emeline wove." 

Shrubs and climbers should be planted in fall or 
early in spring. They delight in a rich, deep loam. 
Large holes should be dug for them, and the earth 
well mixed with well-rotted manure. They will 
require pruning and training every spring. Cut out 
all dead and superfluous shoots, and keep the shrubs 
in a neat symmetrical form. The climbers should 
have strings or wires to climb up on, and these should 
be four or six inches apart. The bignonias and ivy 
will run up walls themselves without assistance, 
striking roots in the walls at every joint. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 57 



PERENNIAL HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 

This is a class of plants requiring but little care, 
and growing on almost every kind of soil. They 
multiply very fast, and require curtailing every year, 
or to be lifted and divided once in three or four years. 
They are all propagated by division of the plant, or 
division of the root. The following list will keep up 
a bloom from March till Christmas ; and if the flow- 
ers of the taller kinds are cut off immediately after 
they fade, the shoots will branch out and bloom a 
second time — ^'m.v." means many varieties of 

Botanical Names. Common Names. 

Adonis Vernalis, yellow^ fl's, in April, Spring Adonis. 
Aconitum, m.v. June, Monk's hood. 

Ageratum Mexicana, lilas fl's from August till Nov. 
Alyssum Sexatile, yellow fl's, in May, Yellow^ Alyssum. 
Campanula, m.v. Bell Flowers. 

Chelone, m.v. 

Chrysanthemum Chinensis, m.v. 
Bellis Perennis, m.v. Daisy, 

Delphinum, m.v* Bee Larkspur, 

Dianthus, m.v. Carnation Pink, 

Dracociphalum, m.v. Dragons Head, 

Eupatorium, m.v. 



58 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



Botanical Names. 

Funkia, 

Helianthemum, 

Lobelia, 

Lychnis, 

Lathrus, 

Lythrum, 

Monarda, 

Pentsteman, 

Phlox, 

Primula, 

Potentilla, 

Saxifraga, 

Sedum, 

Spirea, 

Tradescantia, 

Viola, 

Verbenia, 

Valeriana Rubra, 

Veronica, 

Yucca, 



Common Names. 

m.v. Day Lily, 

m.v. Perennial Sun Flower, 

m.v. 

m.v. 

m.v. Perennial Pea, 

m.v. 

2 V. Sweet Balm, 

m.v. 

m.v. 

m.v. Primrose, 

m.v. 

m.v. Saxifrage, 

m.v. Live Forever, 

m.v. Meadow Sweet, 

2 V. 

2v. Sweet Violet, 

2 V. 

Red Valerom 
m.v. 



m.v. Adam's Needle. 

The Chrysanthemum, Carnation Pink, and Phlox, 
require particular notice. The Chrysanthemum has 
many varieties and colours — two to four feet high, 
from pure white to dark crimson ; flowers very large, 
double, and quilled from October till December. 
Carnation Pinks have large, double, sweet scented 
flowers from May till August; they are propagated 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



59 



by layers. Phlox is a pink of many varieties and 
colours. A full collection will keep up a bloom from 
May till December. It is one of the very choicest 
genera, and no garden should be without them. 



BIENNIAL FLOWERING PLANTS. 



This choice class of plants bloom the second year 
after the seed is sowed : that is, they are sowed this 
year and bloom next year; and generally die off or 
decline after that. A portion should be sowed every 
year in May, to keep up a stock of them. 



Botanical Names. 

Althea Rosea, m.v. 
Aquilegia, m.v. 
Alysum Saxatile, 
Antirrhinum, m.v. 
Campanula Canter- 

berrybellsj 
Campanula Alba, 
Cheiranthus Chi- 

ri, m.v. 



Colour, in. high. Common Names. 
varies, 80 Double Hollyhock 
various, 12 Columbine, 
yellow, 6 
various, 12 Snap Dragon, 

blue, 12 
white, 12 

various, 14 Wall Flower, 



60 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

Botanical Names. Colour, in. high. Common Names. 
Dianthus Barba- 

tus, in.v. various, 12 Sweet William, 
Dianthus Chinen- 

sis, m.v. various, 6 China Pink, 

Hesperis Fragrance, various, 18 Sweet Rocket, 

Scabiosa, m.v. various, 18 Sweet Scatous. 

The above will keep up a bloom from May till 
November, and are very beautiful. 



•\>^ y\.r^' 



ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS. 

The seeds of these are sowed in spring or fall — 
the plants bloom in summer, ripen their seeds, and 
die off in fall. By this they require more care than 
other flowers ; but their endless variety, exceeding 
beauty, delightful fragrance, and profusion of bloom, 
well reward the care bestowed on them. Those 
marked thus, * should be sowed in September or 
October, those thus f, sowed in May, and those J, 
need to be raised in a hot bed. All the rest, sow 
early in spring. 



t:ie cottage garden of America. 



01 



pink. 



Botanical Names. Colour. 

Amaranthus of sortSjVarious 
ifAlysum Calycina, white, 
Anagalis Phillipii, blue, 
Angeratam Mexi- 

cana, lilac, 

fBalsamina Hor- 

tensis, 
Callistemma Hor 

tensis, 
Cleoma Grandi- 

flora, 

JCelosia Cristata, various, 
*Centaura of sorts, various, 
Collinsia of sorts, various. 
Convolvulus Mi- 
nor, blue, 
*CaHiopsis of sorts, various, 
Escholtzia Califor- 

niaca, lemon, 

Escholtzia Corcea, orange. 
Erysimum PerowfT- 

skianum, orange, 

Gallardia of sorts, various, 
■fOomphrena Glo- 

bosa, white and red. 
Hibiscus Afri- 

cana, white and black, 
Iberis of sorts, various, 



in. high. Common Names, 
12to24 Prince's Feather. 

6 Sweet Alysum, 

3 

12 



various, 16 Lady Slipper, 
various, 12 China Aster, 



30 Spider Flower, 

12 Cock's comb, 

24 Suhan, 
12 

12 Dwarf Convolvu- 
24 Coriopsis, [ lus, 

6 
6 

12 



14 Balchler's Button, 

12 African Hibiscus, 
6 Candytuft, 



62 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN oF AMERICA. 



Botanical Names. 


Colours, in. high 


, Common Names. 


Iberis of sorts, 


various. 


6 


Candytuft, 


Lathyras of sorts, 


various. 


24 


Sweet Pea, 


Lupinus of sorts. 


various. 


24 


Sun Dial, 


Mirabilis Jalapa, 


various, 


24 


Four o'clock, 


JMeserabryanthe- 








CrystalJi- 








- 


white, 


3 


Ice Plant, 


JMimosa Sensa- 








tiva. 


pink, 


6 


Sensitive Plant, 


Nemopbila In- 








signus. 


blue, 


7 


Grove's love, 


-Nigella Damas- 








cena, 


blue, 


16 


Love in a mist, 


Reseda Odorata, 


green, 


6 


Mignionette, 


^Delphinium Aja- 








cis, 


various, 


12 


Rocket Larkspur, 


'^Delphinium Con 


- 






solida, 


various. 


24 


Branching, 


JPitunea of sorts, 


various, 


12 




Phlox Drumondii, 


, various, 


8 


Drumond Phlox, 


*Porlutacea Splen 


- 






dens, 


purple. 


4 


Flowering Purs- 


Poppy of sorts. 


various, 


20 


lane, 


Porlutacca Thel- 








lusonii, 


scarlet. 


4 




*Siline of sorts, 


various. 


12 


Catchfly, 


Tagetes Catula, 


various, 


16 


French Marigold, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 63 

Botanical Names. Colours, in. high. Common Names. 

Tagetes Erecta, various, 24 African, 

*Viola Tricolor, various, 6 Heart's Ease, 

Zinnea Eligans, scarlet, 18 

The above are bush annuals. The following are 
climbing annuals: 

Con vol vus Major, purple, Morning Glory, 

flpomea Quam- 

oclit, scarlet. Cypress vine, 

Ipomea Rubra, red and blue. 
Ipomea Hede- 

racea, blue, 

JMaurandia Bar- 

clayand, purple, 

JLoasaLateretia, orange, 
JLophospermum 

Erubesceus, pink, 
JThunbergia of sorts, — orange, buff, white, etc. 

The seeds of the Cypress vine and the Bachelor's 
Button, should be soaked in hot water ten minutes 
before they are sowed ; or pour boiling water over 
them after they are planted. The seed shells are 
very hard, and require hot water to crack them. 



64 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



SOWING FLOWER SEEDS. 

As soon as the ground is dry enough to work, 
spread well-rotted manure over the flower beds : if 
it has not been done the previous fall. Then dig 
them up, taking little before the spade at a time. 
Break the ground fine with the spade as it is turned 
over ; then rake and smooth the beds and sow the 
seeds — each kind of seed to be sowed of a depth, 
according to its size. Scratch a circle six inches in 
diameter, in the ground, and of a depth suitable to 
the size of the seed to be sowed in it; if seeds the 
size of poppy seed are merely covered, it is enough. 
Larkspur seeds may be covered half an inch. Lady 
Slipper an inch deep, Sweet Peas two inches deep, 
and so on. Cover up the seeds with the earth 
scratched out of the hole, and press it firm with the 
■back of the hand ; draw a rut with the forefinger 
round the circle, and write the name of the seeds on 
a labling stick, which stick in the centre of the circle. 
If there be only one row in the bed, sow a tall and 
a dwarf kind alternately ; if there be more than one 
row, sow the taller farthest off the walk, and the 
more dwarf nearest to the walk. Mind in the sow- 
ing to mix the colours well. If the soil is of a stiff 
nature, apt to get hard by rains, sow a little sharp 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 65 

sand on each seed patch, and water them if the 
Weather should set in dry. Some of the young 
plants will be up in a week, and some will take 
three weeks. 



KEEPING THE FLOWER-BEDS CLEAN. 

This is a branch in the keeping of the cottage 
garden properly belonging to the fair sex ; and those 
of a good disposition take much pleasure in attending 
to it. Pull out the weeds from among the flowers in 
the patches, and hoe and rake the beds every two 
weeks. By this, the flowers will get all the nour- 
ishment in the ground, will grow stronger, and their 
colours will be brighter. A more fascinating sight 
cannot be seen, than a lovely maid in her flower par- 
terre, surrounded with the beauties of nature, and 
of all, herself the most charming ; her skin transcend- 
ing the Lily, her cheeks the Rose, her lips the coral 
of the Honeysuckle, her eyes bright as the Dewdrops 
glittering in the sun, and her mind as calm as the 
mild summer's morn. 

6* 



66 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



GATHERING FLOWER SEEDS. 

Gather the seeds when they get ripe, on the after- 
noons of dry days; put each kind in a paper by 
itself, and write its name on the paper ; lay them in 
the sun a few hours, then roll them up and place 
them where damp and mice will not reach them. We 
knew a gardener who was so troubled wdth mice, 
that he kept his seeds in bottles. 



LABELING STICKS. 

These are made of pine or cedar wood, of differ- 
ent sizes, according to the purpose for which they 
are intended. Those for flowers are made an eighth 
of an inch thick, half an inch broad, and six inches 
long; the one end is sharpened to a point, the other 
is smoothed with a sharp knife on one side ; a little 
white paint is rubbed on the smooth part, and the 
name of the plant is written on it with a lead pencil. 
Then it is stuck into the ground, close beside the 
plant. When for fruit trees, it is made one inch 
broad, quarter of an inch thick, and twclv^e inches 
long. Every plant in the garden should be labeled. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 67 



TIEING UP STICKS. 

All flowering plants requiring support, should 
have sticks provided for them, and kept neatly tied 
up. The sticks should be of a size corresponding 
with the growth of the plants. A shingle split into 
twelve pieces, snnoothed and rounded, and sharpened 
at one end, will be suitable for plants from sixteen to 
twenty inches tall ; taller kinds will require larger 
sticks. The plants should be taller than the sticks, 
and tied round them so as to hide them entirely. 

Note. — It should be remarked, that Ageratum 
Mexicana is an " annual" north of New^ York city, 
and a "pererinial" in Philadelphia. 



BULBS. 

All bulbs delight in rich loamy soil, and look best 
when grown in beds or clumps. Plant the hardy 
kinds in October, and let them remain in the ground 
two or three years ; then take them up in summer, 
when their tops die off. Separate the roots, and keep 



68 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF A3IERICA. 



them in a dry place, and plant again in October. 
Plant the tender kinds in April or May, take them 
up in November, and keep them in dry sand over 
winter. The figures in the annexed table show the 
depth to be planted, distance apart, and number suit- 
able for a clump. Each of the species has many 
varieties. 

time to inches inches number in time of 
plant. deep, apart, a clump. bloominfy. 



Amaryllis, May, 
Crocus, Oct. 

Crown Impe- 



rial, 
Daffodil, 
Gladiolis, 
Hyacinth, 
Bigonia, 



Oct. 

Oct. 

May 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

Oct. 



Iris, 
Jonquil, 

Lily, 

Narcissus, 
Polyanthus 

Narcissus, Oct. 

Snowdrop, Oct. 

Tigridia, May 

Tuberose, May 

Tulip, Oct. 



4 4 3 July to Sept. 

3 2 12 March, April. 

6 7 3 May and June. 

4 3 5 March-April. 
4 4 3 July and Aug. 

2 5 3 March-April. 

3 5 3 July and Aug. 

4 4 3 May and June. 

4 3 5 April and May. 

5 6 3 June and July. 
4 4 5 April and May. 

4 6 3 April and May. 

2 1 12 Febry.-March, 

3 3 12 July and Aug. 

5 5 3 Sept. and Oct. 

4 4 7 April and May. 



There is something very pleasing in the culture of 
bulbs. The beauty of their flowers^ and the sweet 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 69 

odour they emit, gives a delightfulness to the air which 
surrounds them ; and their tips, stripes, spots and 
mottlings, defy the pencil of the painter to imitate. 
" Consider the lilies of the fields how they grow ; 
they toil not, neither do they spin: yet Solomon, in 
all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." 



TUBEROUS ROOTED PLANTS. 

These have thick, fleshy roots, separated from each 
other, but connected to the main plant. They are 
propagated by division of the roots, which multiply 
very fast. 

Asclepias Tuberosa— a native plant, with orange 
flowers in August and September. 

Madiera Vine — a vine growing thirty feet in a sea- 
son, with white, sweet scented flowers from August 
till November. 

Hemerocaulis Flava-yellow, lily-like flowers in 
June and July. 

Hmerocaulis Fulva-bufT flowers in June and July. 

Poeony — has double flowers from five to eight 
inches in diameter, in April and May. There is a 



70 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



herbaceous kind, and a woody kind. The following 
are choice : 

Pceomy Edulis Whiteleji — double white herbace- 
ous. Poeony Edulus Humei — double rose herbace- 
ous. Poeony Edulus Fragrans — double red herba- 
ceous. Poeony Officinalis — double crimson herba- 
ceous. Poeony Moutan Banksii — double blush woody. 
Poeony Moutan Albidapleno — double white woody. 

Dahlias. — The following are very choice : (those 
marked thus, * are American seedlings.) 

Argo, (Widnall's) bright yellow fine. 

^Alexander the Great, (Schmitz') dark crimson. 

*Beauty of Philadelphia, (Schmitz') yellow tipped 
rose. 

^Conqueror, (Schmitz') dark maroon. 

*Desdemona, " primrose. 

*Emily, " white edged with rose. 

*Fire King, " bright scarlet. 

Henry Clay, *' dark scarlet. 

*Horace Binney, " shaded maroon. 

Hon. Miss Abbot, light lilac. 

*Mrs. Jones, (Buist's) dove colour. 

*King of Yellow, (Hyslop's) large light yellow. 

*Miss Percival, (Schmitz') pure white extra fine. 

*Mrs. Rushton, (Ruist's) white tipped with rose. 

Orange Superb, large orange, very fine. 

Queen of Roses, (Widnall's) rosy lilac. 

Rising Sun, scarlet. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 71 

Washington Irving, (Schmitz') light purple. 
Beauty of England, purple tipped with white. 
Cinderella, red tipped with pure white. 
Harlequin, (Dodd's) white tipped with bright 
scarlet. 

Illuminator, white edged with shining scarlet. 
Surprise, (Oakley's) purple tipped with w^hite. 
Striata Formosissema, maroon stripped with pink. 
Village Maid, purple tipped with pure white. 

The following w^as written by the Author, and 
published in the " Belvidere Apollo," New Jersey. 

Mr. Editor : — In compliance with numerous re- 
quests, and from a desire to see every cottage and 
mansix)n in our borough and county enlivened by a 
few of the beauties of flora, I send you an item 
on the management of the Dahlia, with a brief sketch 
of its history. The Dahlia is a native of Mexico, 
and was first discovered by Humboldt, in 1756, 
growing on a sandy plain three thousand feet above 
the level of the ocean. It was taken to Spain, where 
it received but little attention. In 1803, Lady Hol- 
land introduced it into England from Madrid, and 
owning to its lateness in flowering, it was considered 
a great acquisition to the floral department. It w'as 
for ten years propagated only by division of the roots. 
When amateurs and gardeners began to produce new 
varieties from seeds, the original plant grew three 



72 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMEKICA. 



feet high, and bore a single red flower three inches 
in diameter ; and from that sj^ecies, all the varieties 
now in cultivation have sprung. We have them 
growing from two to ten feet in height, with double 
flowers from one to seven inches in diameter, with 
petals flat, cupped and quilled— their forms from a 
flat surface to a perfect globe, their colours from a 
dark maroon to a pure white ; variegated, edged, 
tipped, striped, mottled and spotted. The whole 
applause for bringing the Dahlia to such perfection, 
belongs to the American and British amateurs and 
gardeners. 

From the middle of May to the middle of June, is 
the time to plant the Dahlia in this latitude. It will 
grow on almost any kind of soil, but sandy loam 
suits it best ; a single tuber with one sprout, is enough 
to make a good plant. Dig a hole the size of the 
tuber, and four inches deep — lay it in flat, and cover 
it up ; do not let more than one shoot arise from it, 
and displace all laterals the first twelve inches from 
the ground, above that let it branch. Drive a stick 
two or three inches in diameter, and of a length suit- 
able to the growth of the plant, into the ground, close 
to the side of each plant. The plant is to be tied to 
the stick as it advances in growth ; this will prevent 
its being blown down and destroyed by high winds. 
If the head gets crowded, cut out some of its 
branches. September is the month in which the Dahlia 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 73 

shows its pride. As soon as the frost has killed 
down the top, cut off the stem six inches from its 
base, and dig up the root carefully ; after drying two 
days in the sun, pack it in a box with dry earth, and 
place it in a cool, airy part of the cellar. In the 
following spring, about the first of May, if it has not 
sprouted, plant it in a corner of the garden until it 
sprouts, and then plant it where it is to bloom. 



GRASS PLAT. 

A GRASS plat near the house has a clean and lively 
appearance all days in the year; and every cottage 
garden should have one to serve as a bleaching green. 
It can either be sodded or sowed with grass seeds; 
the sodding can be done any time except during hard 
frost. It should be firmly clapped down, to bring it 
in close contact with the earth, which will ensure 
and facilitate its growth. If the sod is laid in mid- 
summer, or in a dry time, the ground should first be 
bug and broken fine, and well watered. The sod 
should likewise be w^ell watered after it is laid and 
clapped. Fall is the best time to sow grass seeds, 
and spring is best to sow clover seeds ; but these 



74 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



seeds may be sowed any time, except in the time of 
hard frost. When they are sowed in midsummer, 
the ground should be frequently watered, and a slight 
covering of straw, etc., put over it, until the grass is 
an inch high, to keep the plat in good condition. 
Mow the grass once in every three weeks during the 
growing season, and give it a good rolling and wa- 
tering every time it is mowed. Give it a top dress- 
ing of well rotted manure every fall, and a peck of 
fresh slacked lime per perch once in three years. 
When plantains, sorrell, and dandylions appear 
among the grass, it is a sure indication of the want 
of lime. 



POT PLANTS. 

Growling plants in pots is by far the nicest part of 
gardening : they live in the house with us, and we 
provide their food, and give them their daily drink. 
If we grow them from seeds, or from cutlings, how 
pleased we are when they come up or take root. 
They soon grow big ; we watch their progress daily ; 
they form buds ; our anxiety becomes intense until 
they expand ; the first bud bursts and shows colour ; 
we hail it as the most beautiful sight we ever have 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 75 

seen. We call in the neighbours to see it, and help 
us to rejoice. If we purchase them in a distant city, 
or get them sent us by a friend, the pleasure is the 
same. If we should have no land attached to our 
dwellings, we can have a garden in our windows 
with pot plants ; and they grow as well in an old 
tea-pot, in the humble cottage window, as in the 
richest vase, in the parlor or conservatory of the 
mansion. And there is eloquence in the expression, 
"smiling flowers in a cottage window :" there is not 
a house in Philadelphia but has pot plants in its win- 
dows. They are like our own children ; and where 
there are no children in a family, there are sure to 
be flowers. The reason of this is, the well disposed 
human mind wants something to love ; and what is 
more lovely than flowering plants. Read the beau- 
tiful lines from a German poet — 

A flower do but place near the window glass, 
And through it no image of evil shall pass : 
Abroad must thou go 1 and on thy white bosom wear 
A rose ; and doubt not that an angel is there. 

Forget not to water at break of the day 
The lilies ; and thou shalt be fairer than they : 
Place a rose near thy bed nightly sentry to keep, 
And angels shall rock thee on roses to sleep. 



76 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



SOILS AND COMPOSTS. 

The natures of plants, and the food they require, 
are as various as that of animals. A dog could not 
live on straw, nor a horse on flesh meats ; so one 
kind of plant would die on a soil whereon another 
would thrive. When growing them in pots, we 
must give them soils to suit their natures. When a 
plant is purchased in a nursery, the soil should be 
examined, and when it needsrepotting, a similar soil 
should be used. There are five ingredients to make 
compounds of, and five kinds of compounds will suit 
nearly all kinds of plants — sand, peat, loam, man^ure, 
and leaf mould. 

Peat — is a black soil, found around Savannah, 
Albany, N. Y., and in parts of New Jersey. 

Sand — everybody knows. 

Loam is earth, but sod three inches thick, taken 
from an old pasture field: or road side, having lain 
in a heap one year, and frequently turned and broken 
fine, is the loam used in pot culture. 

Manure — should be as fine and rotted as a mould. 

Leaf-mould is the black earth found in woods. — 
Where peat cannot be got, use this as a substitute 
for it. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. T7 

«? "- ■ ■■ . . ■ - . . ■ _.^ 

Soil No. 1—3 of Peat 1 of Sand, 
2—2 " 1 

" 3 — 4 of Loam, I " 1 of Manure or Leaf-mould. 

4—3 " 1 " 1 " •• 

" 5—2 " 1 " i " " 

The soils or compounds should be mixed a month 
or two before they are used : so that the ingredients 
may become incorporated. The number of the soil 
suitable for each kinds of plants is appended to it. 



LIST OF POT PLANTS. 

Camellia Japonica, Japan Rose. — This is a class 
of evergreen woody plants, with dark, shining, thick, 
leathery leaves, and double, rose-like flowers. The 
following are profuse bloomers from November till 
April. The first six came from China — the others 
were raised from seeds by American nurserymen. 
The figures denote the diameter of the flowers in 
inches. — Soil No. 3. 

Alba Pleno, or Double White, 
Fimbriata — fringed white, 
Imbricata — crimson and white striped, 
Incarnata, or Lady Hume's — creamy blush, 
Sesanqua Rosa — rose and white, 



78 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

r , -a 

Variegata — scarlet and white striped, 4 

Landrethii, (Landreth's) splendid pink, 4 

Prattii, (Buist's) rose and white striped, 5 

Miss Percival, (Buist's) rose colour very superb, 4 
Hampsteadii, (Ritchie & Dick) crimson, 5 

Sherwoodii, (Sherwood's) crimson and white, 4 
Feastii, (Feast's) pink and white spotted, 4 

Floyii, (Floy's) rosy red, 5 

Amabile, (Smith's) red and white spotted, 4 

Mrs. Cope, (Sherwood's) white, spotted with rose, 5 

Azelia is an evergreen woody tribe, with a great 
profusion of bloom from February till May. — Soil 
No. 1. 

Capeii,-has large rose coloured flowers superb, 



Alba, 




white 




(C (( 


Elegans, 




salmon 




it (( 


Powellii, 




purple 




cc cc 


Superba, 




crimson 


and 


purple spotted, 


Hybrida, 




lilac spotted 


with crimson, 


Specieosa, 




cherry red flowers. 



Acacia are evergreens with yellow flowers from 
March till June in great profusion. — Soil No. 2. 
Alata, — has light yellow flowers, 
Armata, — has bright yellow flowers, 
Decurrens, — deep yellow flowers, 
Swaveolens, — has sweet scented flowers. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 79 

Erica, or Heath — are evergreen dwarf woody 
plants, with flowers of various colours. — Soil No. 2. 
Curviflora — has red flowers, 



Cruenta, 

Grandiflora, 

Mediterrania, 

Ventricosa, 

Viridiflora, 



crimson flowers, 
scarlet flowers, large, 
pink " 

white " 

green " 



Fuchzia, or Lady'^s Eardrop — bloom from May till 
November. — Soil No. 4. 

Globosa — has scarlet flowers, 
Exoniensis — has crimson flowers, 
Rosea Alba, '* white " 
Chandlerii, " white and red flowers. 



'i 



Gardenia, or Cape Jasmine — evergreen woody 
plants, with rose-like flowers from May till Septem- 
ber.— Soil No. 1. 

Grandiflora — has large white flowers double 
Camelliaflora, " '' " " 

Radicans— has small white flowers double. 

Epacris — is a choice tribe of evergreen woody 
plants, blooming from May till November. — Soil 
No. 2. 

Copeii-has red and white flowers. 

Pallida — has red coloured flowers, 



80 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

Paludosa — white sweet scented flowers, 
Purpuracens— has purple flowers. 

Cactus Tribe — are succulent plants with splendid 
flowers, having flesh stems or balls. — Soil No. 5. 

The Cereus Grandiflora blooms in the night time, 
blush. 

The Cereus Speciosissimus — scarlet and purple, 
flowers splendid. 

The Cereus Smithianus, scarlet superb flowers. 

The Epiphyllum Speciosum, pink superb flowers. 

The Epiphyllum Trancatum, scarlet flowers all 
winter. 

The Epiphyllum Russellianum, purple flowers all 
winter. 

The Epiphyllum Chalmerii, scarlet superb. 

Pelargonium^ or Geranium. — Soil No. 4. 

Beauty of Ware, has large crimson flowers. 

Bridegroom, has blush flowers with crimson spots. 

Black Hawk, dark flowers, 

Cecilia, pure white flowers, 

Fanny Grath, pink and red flowers, 

Henry Clay, scarlet with crimson spots, 

Harrisonii, rose w^ith crimson spots, 

Lenoxii, (Buist's) purple and crimson, 

Mrs. Peck, (Buist's) white and crimson, 

Miss Percival, (Buist's) white and crimson, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 81 

Mrs. Stiles, (Buist's) rose and crimson, 

Mrs. Clay, pure white and dark crimson, 

President, (Buist's) salmon and crimson. 

The above have large fine flowers — the following 
are sweet scented. 

Citriodora, or Citron Scented, 

Limonium, or Lemon Scented, 

Capitatum, or Rose Scented, 

Fragrans, or Nutmeg Scented, 

Odoratissima, or Apple Scented, 

Tomentosum, or Pennyroyal Scented. 

The above tribes with the following list will serve 
to make a selection — " fr," in the list, means sweet 
scented. 

2 Ardesia Crenulata, pink floweis and red berries, 

3 Calla Ethiopica, large white flowers, 

4 Calceolaria of sorts, flowers various, 
4 Cineraria of sorts, flowers various, 

3 Dionoea Muscipula, venus fly trap, 

4 Euphorbia of sorts, rich scarlet flowers all winter, 
3 Daphne Odora, purple flowers all winter, 

3 Hovea Celsi, dark blue flowers in spring, 

4 Heleotropium Peruvianum, lilac sweet scented, 

3 Ixora of sorts, rose and scarlet, 

4 Kennedia Monaphylla, blue flowers, climber, 

3 Lemon Trees, varieties of 

4 Olea Fragrans, sweet olive yellow flowers, 
3 Orange Trees, varieties of 



82 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



3 Nerium, or Oleander, varieties of various colours, 
3 Plumbago Capensis, lilac flowers all summer. 

The following are splendid climbers: 

3 Bignonia Venust, orange flowers, 

3 Ipomea Horsfalhi, rich crimson purple flowers, 

3 Ipomea Florabunda, rosy purple, " 

4 Manettia Cordifolia, scarlet crimson " 
4 Passiflora Alata, crimson purple '' 
Passiflora Cerula, light blue 

The following bulbs do well in pot culture : 
3 Amaryllis of sorts, colours various, 
2 Achimenes of sorts, '' 



(C 



3 Gladiolus, " 


<( 


5 Gloxinia, " 


cc 


3 Hyacinth, '' 


(C 


5 Lachenalia, '' 


(C 


5 Oxalis, " 


cc 


3 Narcissus, " 


(C 


4 Tulips, " 


cc 


4 Verbenia, " 


(( 



cc 

66 
CC 
CC 
CC 
CC 
CC 
CC 

cc 



POTTING AND REPOTTING. 



Plants newly raised from seeds or cuttings may 
be planted into pots three inches wide. Put a few 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 83 

pieces of broken pots or small gravel stones in the 
bottom of the pots, to serve as a draining. Fill the 
pot half full of suitable soil, then place the plant in 
the middle of the pot, and fill it up to within half an 
inch of the brim. Give the plants a good watering 
overhead, and place them in a shady place for a 
week. 

Repotting. — The best time to repot all kinds of 
plants is just after they are done blooming. Spread 
the one hand over the mouth of the pot, with the 
plant between the fingers. Take hold of the bottom 
of the pot with the other hand, turn it upside down, 
then tap the brim of the pot on the spade handle, or 
any other thing convenient, aud the plant with the 
ball of earth will leave the pot entire. Shake off 
half of the earth from the ball, and plant the plant 
into a pot two or three inches wider than the one it 
was in. Put a few pieces of charcoal in the bottom 
of the pots, and set the plants in a shady place for at 
least one week, and water them overhead in the 
evenings. A quart of fresh slacked lime, or charcoal 
dust, should be mixed with a bushel of every kind 
of potting soil. The pots should never be filled with 
the soil. Space should be left for to hold as much 
water at once, as will moisten the whole soil in the 
pot. The soil should be frequently stirred on the 
surface of the pots. 

Watering, — The soil in the pots should be kept 



84 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

moist, but not saturated ; the water should always 
be poured in at the top of the pot. If saucers are 
placed under the pots, water should not be left in 
them, more than half an hour after watering. When 
the soil becomes so dry as to separate from the sides 
of the pots, the plant and pot should be set in a tub 
or pail of water for half an hour. If the soil is peat, 
it may remain a whole hour in the water. 

Tielng Up. — All plants unable to support them- 
selves should have sticks, pushed close in at their 
sides, and tied neatly up to them. The sticks should 
be as much hid with the plants as possible, and they 
should never be thicker than the stems of the plants. 



STANDS FOR PLANTS. 

A TABLE three feet long and two feet wide, the 
heighth of the window sill, and set close to it, will 
hold twelve good sized plants. If white painted, it 
will give more light, and contrast w^ell with the red 
pots and green leaves of the plants. Or a stage of a 
crescent form, and set on casters, with the shelves 
inside, and of a size to fit the windows, will be good 
to grow small plants on ; and those who have one. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 85 

should select dwarf growers, as it is useless for large 
plants, the shelves being too small for large pots. 
It can easily be drawn back from the window in 
cold nights, or turned with the plants inward when 
there is company. Those who are able, may put up 
a greenhouse on the most sheltered and sunnny side 
of the house ; and it could be heated by the heat of 
the house, by having a glass door to enter it out of 
the parlour : this door could be opened or shut at 
pleasure. A house ten feet square would hold a 
choice assortment of winter flowering exotics, which 
would form a cheap, pleasant, and social amusement 
for the whole family and their visitors. 

Insects are sometimes very troublesome on pot 
plants. The green fly, or plant louse, can be de- 
stroyed by brushing it off the plants, with a long hair 
brush, into a pail of hot water. The scaly insect, 
red spider, and mealy bug may be destroyed by- 
washing the stems and leaves with lukew^arm water. 
Use a hard brush for the stems, and a sponge or cloth 
for the leaves. Then syringe the plants frequently. 

Washing the pots benefits the plants very much : 
so it should be done at least once every two weeks. 

Shading Plants.— MsLny of the pot plants would be 
destroyed if exposed to the hot sun in summer. The 
Cammellia, Azalia, Gardenia, Ardesia, Daphne, 
should be well shaded and watered overhead in the 
evenings during summer. g 



86 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

For a greater variety of flowering plants, the 
reader is referred to the catalogues of our nursery- 
men in different parts of the country; and for full 
descriptions and instructions for their culture, the 
"American Flower Garden Directory," by Robert 
Buist, seeds and nurseryman, Philadelphia, is the 
best book on the subject, ever published in America. 

Note. — The following plants bloom from May till 
December, and can be purchased in pots from our 
nurserymen, for from five to twenty-five cents each. 

Calceolarias, various colours, 

Cypress vine, a climber, scarlet colour, 

ErycimumPerofTscanum, orange " 

Globe Ameranthus, white and purple colours, 

Ice Plant, white colour, 

Heliotrope, sweet scented, lilac colour, 

Hememeris Coccenia, scarlet " 

Loasa Lateritia, a climber, orange " 

Laphospermum Erubescens, a climber, pink colour, 

Manettia Cordifolia, a climber, scarlet colour, 

Ivlaurandia Barclayana, a climber, purple colour, 

Phlox Drumandii, various colours, 

Portulacca, two sorts, crimson and scarlet colours, 

Pitunea, many sorts, various colours, 

Sweet Alyssum, white colour, 

Salvia of sorts, scarlet and blue colours. 

Scarlet Geraniums, scarlet colour. 

Sensitive Plant, pink 



(( 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 87 

Plumbago Capensis, light lilac colour, 
Thunbergia, three sorts — climbers, white, bufT, 
and orange colours. 

Verbenias, many sorts, various colours, 
Vinca, two sorts, white and rose colours. 



FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

" Fine fruit," says one, " is the flower of commo- 
dities," combining the beautiful and useful. 

What wond'rous life is this I lead, 
Ripe apples drop above my head ; 
The luscious clusters of the vine, 
Upon my mouth do crush their wine ; 
The nectarine and the curious peach, 
Into my hands themselves do reach. 

Marvell. 

The following, written by the Author some years 
ago, and published in the "" Belvidere Apollo," New 
Jersey, may serve as a preface to this department — 

Among the various branches of social industry and 
rural economy, the cottage garden holds a prominent 
place,— and is one with which every person who 



88 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

lives a country life is associated. Nothing can have 
a greater tendency to create an industrious habit in 
a man, and keep him away from the temperance 
house and tavern door, than the desire to possess a 
well-stocked and well-cultivated cottage garden * 
and nothing is more conducive to the health and 
happiness of a family, than to assist in its culture and 
share in its products ; but it is only when it is well 
stocked and well kept, that it is appreciated at its 
full value. My purpose here, is to show to the young 
and inexperienced, the difference between a cottage 
garden stocked with choice fruits, and one that is 
not. We will then suppose, that two young men 
shall purchase two quarter acre lots, joining each 
other, and have the houses, fences, and ground plans 
of their gardens alike ; the one manures and culti- 
vates his garden well, but contents himself with 
growing vegetables only ; the other stocks his with 
a variety of choice fruits, manures and cultivates it 
well, and raises as many and as good vegetables as 
his neighbour. Suppose that he has planted one 
apple, one pear, one cherry, two peaches, two plums, 
one quince, and one grape-vine, — and the whole to 
have cost him five dollars, — we will now estimate 
the average product of fruit w^hen the trees are half- 
grown: and value it at the half of city prices.: — 
Twelve bushels of apples, $6 ; six bushels of pears, 
$6 ; three bushels of cherries, $3 ; one bushel of 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 80 

quinces, $1 ; six bushels of peaches, $5 ; three 
bushels of plums, $3 ; four bushels of grapes, $6. — 
Here this man raises $30 worth of fruit yearly, and 
as many vegetables as his neighbour the other side 
of the fence does Avithout growing a single fruit. 
Fruit growers will say, that I have estimated the 
price and produce altogether too low. I confess I 
have, but my purpose is not to exaggerate. There 
is, too, a pleasure beside the profit, in taking a friend, 
a visitor, or a neighbour through one's garden, show- 
ing the trees planted with one's own hands, and de- 
scribing the size, colour, and taste of their fruits, — 
their time of ripening, etc. A wife, too, has plea- 
sure in sending a few of the best to her distant friend, 
or distributing a few among her near neighbours. 

I would say to those who have houses to rent, — 
stock your gardens with choice fruit trees. By so 
doing, your property will be better taken care of, 
and your rents better paid. And to those who 
occupy their own cottages and gardens, it is well 
worth your while to save ten cents each week for 
one year, to purchase a full variety of fruit trees to 
stock your gardens with. To the young man who 
has not yet entered the path of connubial bliss, — 
be saving and industrious, purchase a lot of ground, 
fence, manure, and plough it well : then stock it with 
choice fruit trees. You can either let an industrious 

man cultivate it for the half, or do it yourself in your 

8* 



90 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



leisure hours. It will always be a greater treat for 
your sweetheart, and more pleasure to her parents, to 
take a walk with you through your own lot, and hear 
you name all the trees you planted with your own 
hands — and describe their different varieties of fruit, 
than to sit in a confectioner's shop, spending as much 
at one time, as would purchase a choice fruit tree. 
Try this once, and I'll guarantee you'll never get the 
" sack," — unless it be from your wdfe, to fill with 
fruit to send to some of her friends. 



THE APPLE. 

The apple is a universal fruit in the temperate 
zone. It will grow on almost any kind of soil, but 
thrives best on a deep loam. The fruit of many 
varieties is very delicious and wholesome, eaten raw 
or cooked. It serves as a physic for the bowels, 
purifies the blood, and its acids correct impurities 
about the stomach. Cider, made from its juice, is 
both refreshing and strengthening, and where it is 
much used, little or no medicine is needed. We 
have grown and fruited the following varieties, in 
different sections of the country, and know them to 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 91 

be all of first rate excellence, either in their raw state, 
or when cooked. Their sizes are defined thus : less 
than three inches in diameter, are called small; be- 
tween three and four inches, are medium sized ; all 
above four inches in diameter are large. 

Early Harvest. — A native fruit of medium size, 
and excellent qualities; skin yellow — flesh white and 
crisp, with a rich juice ; ripe in July. Tree a thrifty 
grower and good bearer. 

Maiden Blush. — A beautiful apple, a native of New 
Jersey, of medium size ; lemon colour, with a bright 
red cheek; flesh white, tender, with a lively fla- 
voured juice, and of great celebrity in Philadelphia 
markets ; ripe in August, and keeps till October. 
The tree a great bearer and rapid grower. 

Summer Pearmain. — An excellent apple, of me- 
dium size; skin red, streaked with yellow ; flesh 
white and tender, with a sprightly perfumed juice. 
The tree is of slow and slender growth, but a fair 
bearer; ripe, end of August, and keeps till October. 

Fall Pippen. — A beautiful apple, of large size ; 
skin yellow, flesh mellow, with a spicy perfumed 
juice, and very tender. The tree is a thrifty grower, 
and a great bearer ; ripe in October and keeps till 
March. Mr. Downing thinks this a native fruit: and 
surely it is — for it is universal here, and scarce in 
Europe. There is a tree of it, of an enormous size, 
growing on "EUerslie," the seat of Dr. J. M. Paul, 



92 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

Warren county, N. J. A man ninety years old, told 
me, that the tree was as large when he was a boy, as 
it is now. This may prove to be the original tree. 

Yellow Belle Fleiir. — A native of New Jersey ; 
a choice apple of large size ; skin pale yellow ; flesh 
white, w^ith a red blush on the sunny side, crisp, 
w^ith a rich sprightly juice. The tree is of rapid 
growth, large bearer ; ripe, end of October, and 
eeps till April. 

Wwde Islavd Greening. — A native of Rhode Island, 
fruit large ; skin green ; and flesh yellowish white, 
tender and crisp, with abundance of sharp, highly 
perfumed juice. Tree a thrifty grower, and prolific 
bearer ; ripe, end of October, and keeps till April. 

Baldwin. — A native of Massachusetts : an apple 
of much beauty and excellence ; fruit large — skin 
yellow, with a red cheek ; flesh tender, with abun- 
dance of rich, sugary, well flavoured juice. Tree of 
strong erect growth ; a great bearer. Ripe, end of 
October, and keeps till March. 

Swarr. — A native of New York, of exceeding ex- 
cellence ; fruit large, skin yellow, flesh yellow, crisp 
and tender, wdth a rich aromatic flavoured juice. 
Tree a rapid grower and large bearer. Ripe in No- 
vember, and keeps till May. 

Esopus SpitzenhuTg. — Another native of New York, 
an apple of first rate excellence, of medium size, skin 
shining crimson, flesh yellowish white, full of 



TriE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 93 

sprightly highly perfumed juice; ripe, end of Octo- 
ber, and keeps till March, The tree is a thrifty 
grower, and constantly great bearer. 

Irish Russet. — A native of Ireland, a very choice 
apple, fruit small, skin yellow, flesh greenish yellow, 
tender, crisp, with exceedingly rich, finely-flavoured 
juice. Tree of a free and thrifty growth, and a great 
bearer; ripe, end of October, and keeps till March. 

Wine Apple. — A native of Delaware, an apple of 
many excellent qualities ; skin red, mixed with yel- 
low ; flesh yellowish white, full of sprightly flavoured 
juice. The tree is a thrifty grower, and very pro- 
lific; ripe, end of October, and keeps till March. 

Green JYewtown Pippen. — A native of Long Island ; 
is not surpassed by any apple in good qualities, — 
fruit of medium size, skin green, flesh greenish, very 
crisp and juicy, and hightly perfumed. Tree of 
slender growth, a regular, good bearer. 

Yellow JVewtown Pippen. — An apple without a 
rival in good qualities ; fruit medium size ; skin 
yellow with a red cheek, flesh white, tender and 
juicy, and richly perfumed. ^„ Tree a slender grower, 
and great bearer. This, and the green Newtown 
Pippen, are ripe in November, and keep without 
shriveling till June. 



94 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERU-^A, 



GATHERING AND KEEPING THE FRUIT. 

The fruit should be gathered before it is dead ripe, 
and on the afternoon of a dry day ; and as much of 
it picked off' the tree with the hand, as can be reached. 
A step-ladder can be used to reach the outer ends of 
the branches, and the picker can have a pole with a 
hook, to pull the branches near to him, a basket to 
put the fruit in, and when on the tree, a basked with 
a rope to it, to let softly down when full. The fruit 
should be at once packed into barrels or boxes, with 
a layer of soft hay and fruit alternately. Well-dryed 
chaff, or coarse bran will suit the same purpose. 
Some mix mint with the fruit, to give it a fine fla- 
vour. The barrels or boxes may be headed up at 
once, and set in a shady, airy place for a week, then 
placed in the airyest part of the cellar and used when 
needed. 

Propagation. — The apple is increased by seeds, 
budding, and grafting. — See article on Propagation. 

Insects. — The enemies of the apple tree and its 
fruit, are the Borer, Caterpillar, Canker worm. Scaly 
insect, woolly Aphis, and the fly that stings the fruit. 
The Borer is a grub that enters the trunk of the trees 
at their base, and eats into the heart of the tree. 
When it has got in, push a wire into the hole as far 
as it will go, and kill the grub. To keep it off, wash 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERI(;A. 9^5 

the stem of the tree, in spring, with whale oil soap 
and water; one pound of soap to five gallons of 
water ; or, cattle manure and water, as thick as paint, 
will do. The Caterpillar preys on the leaves. Have 
a long hair brush, with the hair all round. Tie it on 
a long pole, reach it up to the nest in the mornings 
while they are all in it, turn round the brush in the 
nest, and it wall stick to it. Pull down and destroy 
them with the feet ; or burn tobacco shanks, or any 
thing that will make an offensive smell, under the 
trees in calm evenings — that will destroy them. De- 
stroy the Scaly insect, by washing them off with a 
scrubbing brush and w^ater blood heat. The Canker 
worm preys on branches and leaves. It winters in 
the ground ; destroy it in the same way as the cater- 
pillar. To keep it off, sow lime or ashes round the 
stem of the tree, before the frost is out of the ground 
in spring, or w^ash the stem with whale oil soap and 
water, or cattle manure and w^ater. The Woolly 
Aphis is a white louse, and found in great numbers 
on the cliffs of trees, covered wuth white cotton. 
Wash them off with a hard brush and whale oil soap 
and water, lukewarm. The fly that stings the fruit 
may be kept off by sowing fresh slacked lime over 
the trees once a week for three weeks, just after the 
fruit is set : while the dew is on in the mornings. 
Gather all the fruit that falls before ripe, and put it in 
the pig's tub, and that will destroy the insects. 



96 THi: COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



APRICOT. 

The Apricot is a fine fruit, the size of the plum, 
of a deep yellow colour, and of a rather firm, dry 
nature. It is generally cut in pieces and eaten with 
cream and sugar, and makes excellent preserves. 
The tree will grow on many kinds of soil, but thrives 
best on a deep light loam. When grafted on the 
plum, it does best on a heavy loam ; and when grafted 
on the peach, it does best on sandy loam. 

Moor Park. — A popular variety; orange colour, a 
little juicy and perfumed, ripe in August. Tree very 
thrifty and prolific. 

Peach Jipricot. — Fruit large, a little juicy and well 
flavoured, ripe in August. Tree free grower and 
large bearer. 

Roman. — Fruit large — pale yellow — rather dry, 
but well flavoured ; ripe in July. Tree is a great 
bearer. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMLia^A. 97 



CHERRY. 

The cherry will grow on almost every kind of soil, 
but thrives best on a light loam, and in an elevated 
situation. The frJlowing are good for eating and 
cooking, the trees being all thrifty growers and very 
prolific. 

American Amher. — Raised by Mr. Bloodgood, at 
Flushing, Long Island ; fruit medium size, with a 
sharp finely flavoured juice ; colour clear amber, ripe 
in June. 

Black Tartarian. — The largest and finest cherry in 
cultivation : of a dark purple colour, with an abun- 
dance of sprightly, rich, highly perfumed juice : tree 
of rapid growth, and a prodigious bearer. 

Downton. — An English cherry, raised by the late 
Mr. Knight; fruit large, cream colour, juicy and 
richly flavoured ; ripe in July — a large bearer. 

English Morcllo. — The very best of all preserving 
cherries: fruit large, deep crimson colour, with strong, 
rich acid juice; tree of slender, straggling growth; 
a regular great bearer, ripe, end of July. 

May Duke. — The finest early cherry, deep red 
colour, juicy and richly flavoured : ripe in June ; 
tree of erect, thrifty growth,, and very prolific. 

Wendell Bigerreaii. — A new cherry, advertised in 



98 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

Downing's Horticulturist, by Wilson Thorburn & 
Co., nursery and seedsmen, Albany, New York. It 
is said to be of great excellence. [If its juice is like 
the sweet nature of the young gentle (Dr. Herman 
Wendell) in whose honour it is named, it will be a 
great acquisition.] 



CURRANTS. 

The currant is so well known and universally cul- 
tivated, that no description of it is required. It 
grows on almost every kind of soil. The fruit is 
wholesome in its raw or cooked state, and jellies 
made from its juice are delicious. 

Red Grape.— This currant grows three times as 
large as the common red, the juice is richer and 
sweeter, and the bush a prodigious bearer. 

KnigliVs large red is also a desirable variety. 

White Grapej or White Dutch. — Fruit very large, 
bunches six inches long, juice very rich and highly 
perfumed ; bush a great bearer. 

The currant is propagated by cuttings, planted in 
fall or spring. The cuttings should be young shoots 
of the previous season's growth. The bushes should 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



99 



be rooted up when eight years old, and a young 
plantation should be made two years before the old 
one is uprooted. They should be pruned in winter, 
so as to have the branches at least six inches from 
each other, and the bushes should never be closer 
planted than six feet apart. 



GOOSEBERRY. 



The gooseberry does best on a heavy deep loam, 
and a cool bottom ; and where it is shaded, the fruit 
is wholesome and delicious, and makes a rich jam. 

Bunker Hill, is an excellent large yellow. 



Bonnie Lass, 


u a 


white. 


Cheshire Lass, * 


i i 


white, 


Crown Bob, 


( a 


red. 


Red Warrington, 


il U 


red. 


Jolly Tar, 


u a 


green. 


Old Jam, 


U il 


crimson 


Yellow Sulphur, * 


c u 


yellow. 


Whitesmith, ' 


i << 


white. 



Uproot the bushes when eight years old, propa- 
gated by cuttings. 



100 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



GRAPE-VINE. 

" Lo the vine of canaan bends, 
Near tlie hand that faith extends 
Branches laden with such fruit, 
As thy parching thirst will suit." 

The following was written by the Author some 
years ago, and published in the '^ Warren Journal," 
New Jersey. It may not be considered out of place 
here. 

VITIS VINEFERA. 

The history of the grape-vine is coeval with that 
of man. It is said to have been an inhabitant of the 
garden of Eden ; " and Noah, the servant of the 
Lord, as soon as the waters of the flood had subsided, 
planted a vineyard." Our Redeemer, w^hile on earth, 
extolled it : as, on one occasion he said to his disci- 
ciples — " I am the vine, ye are the branches." Since 
the remotest ages of antiquity, it has been celebrated 
as the emblem of plenty, and the symbol of happi- 
ness ; in the same ratio as the spread of Christianity, 
and the march of civilization and improvements, has 
increased the cultivation of the vine. Italy has long 
been celebrated as the garden of Europe, but the 
surpassing ingenuity of the French places them on 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 101 

the first page of improvement in the cultivation of 
the vine. The produce of which, as an article of 
commerce, they annually export to the enormous 
value of 40,000,000 of francs. The vine is a plant 
of great age. Pliny speaks of one six hundred years 
old. There are vineyards in Italy which have been 
in a flourishing state over three centuries. It is also 
of great luxuriance and productiveness; a single vine 
growing in Essex, England, covers a space of one 
hundred and sixty square yards: and yields annually 
a ton of grapes. On gentleman's establishments 
around Boston, New York and Philadelphia, the vine 
is cultivated under glass as well as in the open air: 
and ripe grapes are gathered six months in the year. 
In those large cities, where the allotments of ground 
are small, some of the yards no larger than the size 
of a common room, by the care of intelligent inha- 
bitants, produce two or three bushels of grapes an- 
nually. 

In Belvidere, too, the vine is cultivated to perfec- 
tion by several enterprising townsmen. There 
is no country in the world better adapted to the 
growth of the vine than the United States; and in no 
other country do so many individuals own the land 
on which they live. The simple propagation, rapid 
growth, and great fruitfulness of the vine, its deli- 
cious fruit, and the many purposes to which it can 
be appropriated, claim for it a place in every well 



102 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

cultivated garden. Indeed, every citizen of this 
great and happy Republic may, if he chooses, sit 
under his own fruit vine and fig tree. 

Mr. Longwarth, of Cincinnati, says, — "the banks 
of the Ohio will soon rival those of the Rhine, in 
the quality and quantity of their wine." 

The native vines will grow on a great variety of 
soils, but flourish best on deep rich loams ; and are 
more hardy and prolific when trained on open arbours 
with sloping roofs, than when trained on perpendicu- 
lar or horizontal fences or buildings. But when 
trained on upright walls or trellises, perpendicular 
training is preferable to horizontal ; an arbour with a 
perpendicular front eight feet high, and a sloping 
roof twelve feet wdde, rising three feet in the twelve, 
is a suitable structure to train the native varieties on. 
They will cover the whole, and yield a large crop 
yearly, without being exhausted. If growing on a 
good soil, properly pruned, and if they get a yearly 
dressino; of w^ell rotted manure, and a biennial dress- 
ing of fresh slacked lime, (say a peck per perch, ap- 
plied in fall or early spring,) the following system 
will assist the beginner. 

Take cuttings in spring or fall, of young shoots of 
the previous summer's growth, with three buds to 
each; plant them in rich mellow ground, with tw^o 
buds under ground, and one bud above ground. If 
they are partly shaded, well watered, and kept clear 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 103 



of weeds, they will each make a shoot six feet long 
which should be tied up to a stick or arbour. Thi« 
is the first year: second year, in March, cut down 
the young shoots to two buds each ; dig well rotted 
manure around their roots, and sow a handful of 
lime around. They will each make two shoots ten 
feet long this year, which are to be trained up as they 
progress in growth ; nip off all laterals or small shoots 
growing out of the sides of the main shoots; do this 
once every two weeks, when the main shoots are six 
feet long; nip off the top, and let the upper lateral 
take its place ; and when that has grown two feet, 
nip off the top, and let the upper lateral again take its 
place. These toppings will check the rapid flow of 
the sap, and give more strength to the main shoots: 
now each plant has two shoots. In November, when 
they shed their leaves, cut down these shoots to two 
buds each, and spread rotted manure over their roots. 
Third year, in spring, dig in the manure around 
their roots, and sow a handful of lime around each 
plant. We will suppose that the vines are growing 
at the arbour on which they are to be trained, and 
stand six feet apart. Each plant will this year make 
four shoots fifteen feet long, which are to be trained 
to the arbour fifteen inches apart and topped twice, 
and their laterals nipped off every two weeks. Each 
plant now has four shoots fifteen feet long ; in fall, 
after their leaves drop, cut down two shoots on each 



104 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

plant to two buds each, and cut ofi' onc-tli'id of the 
leng'h of the other two shoots ; these shoots will yudd 
fruit next year. Spread manure around their roots, 
and a quart of lime to each plant. 

Fourth 3'ear, in spring, dig in the manure about 
their roots, and sow a quart of fresh lime around each 
plant. The roots by this time, will extend ten feet 
from the stems; and as it is from their extremities 
the nourishment is gained, the manure should be 
spread over the ground as far as they extend. The 
two shoots which were left to two-thirds of their 
length, will yield fruit this year ; and those cut down 
to two buds each, will make two shoots each, which 
are to be trained up to the arbour fifteen inches apart, 
and have their laterals nipped off' once every two 
weeks. This system is now complete : each vine 
has four young shoots, fifteen or twenty feet long, of 
this year's growth. .In fall cut down the two shoots 
which bore fruit this year, to two buds each, and cut 
two of the young shoots to two-thirds of their lengths, 
and cut two feet off the length of the other two shoots. 

Fifth year — the four shoots which grew last year, 
will yield a large crop of fruit this year ; and the two 
which were cut down will each make two shoots fif- 
teen or twenty feet long, which are to be trained up 
between the bearing shoots ; in fall, cut down the 
shoots which bore fruit, to one bud. Each will make 
one shoot next year, to be trained up where the old 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 105 



ones grew. Shorten two of the young shoots to two- 
thirds of their lengths, and cut two feet off the length 
of the other two shoots. Manure and lime occa 
sionally, and by this system the vines will yield a 
large crop of fine fruit every year, without ever being 
exhausted. Be sure always to keep the ground clear 
of weeds around them, and never let the fruiting 
shoots make much wood. — This is called the alter- 
nate system. The fruit of the native varieties is 
seldom properly ripened before October, and should 
not be eaten before that time : but ripe fruit can be 
produced a month earlier, by girdling the bearing 
shoots. Cut out two inches in length of the bark all 
round the shoots, two feet above where they are to 
be pruned down to next fall : the shoots thus girdled 
will ripen their fruit a month earlier than other 
shoots on the same vine that are not girdled. It is 
better to purchase the plants, than to be troubled and 
perhaps disappointed with cuttings ; besides, two years 
are gained by purchasing the plants, and two year's 
fruit of one vine would purchase two dozen plants. 

Good plants of the native varieties are fifty cents 
each. Good plants of foreign varieties are seventy- 
five cents. 

Isabella. — A native of South Carolina ; first brought 
into notice by Mrs. Isabella Gibbs, wife of George 
Gibbs, Esq. It is a luxuriant grower, and a prodi- 
gious bearer ; fruit nearly black ; berries a good size, 



106 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

thickly set on the bunches, which are six inches long, 
without shoulders. The leaves are stiff, and cup up 
at the edges; the back of the leaf is silvery white. 
"Whoever grows only one vine, let it be the Isabella. 
The fruit has a small pulp-, and a rich, aromatic fla- 
voured juice ; ripe in October. 

Catawba. — A native of Maryland, first brought into 
notice by Major Adlum. A strong grower, and pro- 
lific bearer ; fruit brown colour, w^ith little pulp ; 
berries large, loose on the bunches, which are a good 
gize and well shouldered, juice sweet and sprightly; 
leaves large and soft, reflecting at the edges; silvery 
white on the under sides ; ripe in October. 

Elslngburgh. — A native of New' Jersey, a free 
grower and great bearer ; fruit nearly black ; ber- 
ries small, bunches small and compact, juice very 
sweet, no pulp ; leaf small and wood slender; ripe 
in October. 

Bland. — A native of Virginia, a free grower and 
moderate bearer; fruit brown; berries a good size 
loose on the bunches, which are a good size, and 
shouldered : leaves large and green on the under side ; 
ripe in October; juice rich and sweet. 

Ohio. — A choice variety, brought into notice by 
Mr. Longw^orth of Cincinnati, and a subject of much 
discussion. The fruit is very like the Elsingburgh, 
but the leaves are larger than that variety. It does 
not get into favour about Philadelphia. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 107 



The following are foreign varieties, and require a 
more sandy soil, and the same pruning and training 
as the natives ; but should be taken off the arbour 
in fall, and tied up with straw for the winter, as di- 
rected for roses north of Philadelphia. 

Golden Chasselas. — A thrifty grower, and great 
bearer ; fruit greenish white, with a golden bloom ; 
berries large, bunches large, juice very rich and 
sweet, without pulp ; ripe in September. 

White Sweet Water. — A hardy prolific variety, fruit 
greenish white ; berries large, bunches good size, 
juice sweet and finely flavoured ; ripe in September ; 
a fair bearer. 

White Hamburgh. — A strong grower, very hardy 
and prolific ; fruit pale green, berries large, bunches 
very large ; juice sweet and pleasant, ripe in 
October. 

Black Hamburgh. — An exceedingly choice variety, 
a strong grower and great bearer; fruit dark brown, 
berries very large, bunches large, juice sweet, rich 
and highly perfumed, ripe in October. 

Griuzly Frontignac. — A free grower and large 
bearer; fruit brown, berries and bunches good size; 
juice rich and sweet, ripe end of September. 

Hansteretto .' — A hardy prolific varieties fruit blacky 
berries and bunches large; juice rich and well fla- 
voured, ripe in October. 



108 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



KEEPING GRAPES. 

Grapes may be kept sound for a twelve month. 
Gather the fruit before it is dead ripe, on the after- 
noon of a dry day; dry them on boards in the sun 
one day, then pack them with coarse bran, putting a 
layer of bran and a layer of fruit alternately, in boxes 
or barrels. Cover them up air tight. The bran 
should be dried on boards in the sun a few days, or 
in a spent oven before it is used. 

A grape-vine growing near to a dwelling, and the 
eating of its fruit, gives a lively feeling to the whole 
household. The French and Italians owe their 
sprightly natures to the culture and fruit of the vine, 
" which cheereth the heart of God and man." 



PEACH. 



The peach, "rich with fertility and life distil," 
will grow on almost every kind of soil, but thrives 
best, lives longest, and is most prolific on a rich, 
sandy loam, and in an elevated situation. Being a 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 109 

tree of exceedingly rapid growth and great fruitfal- 
ness, it requires much fertilizing matter to keep it in 
a healthy state. Salt, lime, and decomposed manures 
are suitable food for the peach. When grown on 
cold, wet, or clayey soils, it should be budded on a 
plum stock. Both tree and fruit are preyed on by 
insects. When the weather becomes warm in April 
and early part of May, the tree grows and expands 
its foliage ; then if asudden cold snap comes, it checks 
the flow of the sap, the veins of the leaves burst and 
blister, the leaves become decrepit and yellow, and 
it is supposed that the tree has got "the yellows." 
But a few weeks of w^arm weather will again make it 
push and grow% and shed a dark green over its foliage. 
An insect deposits its eggs in the fruit shortly after it 
is set ; a grub is soon hatched, which lives on the 
kernel of the stone ; the fruit relaxes its hold, and 
falls from the tree before it is matured ; the grub gets 
out and enters the ground, where it remains dormant 
until next spring, when it comes forth a fly to depo- 
sit its eggs in the young fruit. As soon as the fruit 
falls, it should be gathered and burned, or put into 
the pigs' tub, which will destroy the insects. If 
fresh slacked lime or ashes be sowed over the head 
of the tree in the mornings while it is wet with dew, 
once a week, for three successive weeks after the 
fruit is set, the insect will hardly touch the fruit. 

Another insect deposits its eggs in the stem of the 

10 



110 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



trees, half an inch below the surface of the earth ; 
grubs are soon hatched, which live on the inner bark 
and eat downwards, and along the roots, till they 
destroy them ; the tree being deprived of feeders, 
dies of starvation, which is called " the yellows." 
If the earth is taken away from the stems of the trees 
for three inches all round, and down to the spreading 
of (he roots, and the place filled up with fresh slacked 
lime or ashes, the insects will not touch the tree. If 
urine or salt brine is poured around the stem, the 
insect Avill keep off. These ingredients are to be re- 
newed in May and August, as the insect hatches 
twice a year. When gum appears about the base of 
the stem, examine it to see that no grubs are there. 
When the peach is grown on poor grass lands, or 
farmer's fields ^vhich are scantly manured, and 
cropped close up to the stem of the tree, the surface 
crops take up all the good of the manures, the tree 
in a few years consumes all the food suitable to its 
nature contained in the soil, and then dies of starva- 
tion, called "the yellows." The symptoms of star- 
vation, caused either by the povert}^ of the soil, or 
by being deprived of feeders by insects, are the 
same. The tree becomes bark bound, the young 
shoots are red, the leaves small, yellow, and often 
curled : the fruit is small, of a high colour, soft to the 
touch, ripens a month before its natural time, and is 
not very palatable. When all these symptoms 



THE Cr,«TTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. Ill 



appear, the tree should at once be dug up ; for to 
remain, it will be an unsightly, unprofitable, and 
incurable object, '^y" means free-stone — " c" for 
cling-stone. 

f Crawford? s Early Melocaton A native, raised 

by Wm. Crawford, Esq., New Jersey; fruit large, 
yellow, with a red cheek ; flesh tender, rich and 
finely flavoured ; ripe in August ; tree very prolific. 

f Crawford'' s Late Melocaton, — A splendid native 
peach, raised by Wm. Crawford, Esq., New Jersey ; 
fruit very large, yellow, with a red cheek ; flesh 
melting, juicy, rich, and highly perfumed ; ripe, end 
of September ; tree very productive. 

f Early York. — A very excellent peach, fruit me- 
dium size, red colour, flesh melting, juicy, and finely 
flavoured : ripe in August ; tree great bearer. 

f George the Fourth. — Raised by Mr. Gill, Broad 
street, New York; a delicious, splendid peach, fruit 
large, yellow, with a red cheek; flesh melting, juicy, 
and highly perfumed ; ripe in August — tree a strong 
grower and great bearer. 

f Grosse Mignonne. — A magnificent old peach, un- 
surpassed by any ; fruit very large, yellow, with a 
deep red cheek; flesh very melting and juicy, and 
richly perfumed ; ripe in August — tree very prolific. 

fKenrick Heath. — Raised by Mr. Kenrick, nursery- 
man, Boston ; a choice peach, fruit large, greenish 
white, with a deep red cheek; flesh melting, juicy, 



1 12 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

and richly flavoured ; ripe in September — tree a 
thrifty grower and great bearer. 

f Morris White. — A native, medium size, greenish 
white, with a blush on the sunny side ; flesh tender, 
juicy, and finely flavoured; ripe in September — tree 
a good bearer. 

f Royal George. — An excellent peach, fruit medium 
size, whitish, with a red cheek ; flesh melting, juicy, 
and highly perfumed ; ripe in August — tree a thrifty 
grower, and great bearer. 

The above are free-stones — the following^ are 
cling-stones. 

c Heath. — A delicious and magnificent peach — 
fruit large, creamy white, flesh melting, very juicy, 
and richly perfumed ; ripe in October — tree very 
prolific. 

c Old Mixon Cling-stone. — One of the finest of all 
peaches; fruit large, yellow, with a red cheek; flesh 
melting, very juicy, rich and highly perfumed; ripe 
in September — tree thrifty and prolific. 

c Old JYeioington. — A celebrated peach ; fruit large, 
pale yellow, with a red cheek; flesh melting, juicy, 
very rich and perfumed ; ripe in September — prolific. 

c Tippecanoe. — .4 splendid peach, raised by George 
Thomas, of Philadelphia ; fruit large, yellow, with a 
red cheek ; flesh melting with a rich, sprightly, highly 
perfumed juice ; ripe in September-^tree very pro- 
lific. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 1 l3 

c Washington. — A choice native ; fruit mediam 
size, greenish, with a blush on the sunny side ; flesh 
melting rich and juicy; ripe, end of September — 
tree a great bearer. 



NECTARINE. 

The nectarine is like the peach in everything but 
the fruit, which is smooth and shining, whereas the 
peach is rough and downy : treat it as the peach. 

Elruge. — A choice, free-stone nectarine; fruit 
medium size, green and red ; flesh melting, very 
juicy, and finely flavoured ; ripe in August. 

PitrnastoTi's Orange. — A choice nectarine ; fruit 
large, orange, with a red cheek; flesh melting, juicy, 
and richly perfumed ; ripe in August. 

Violette Hative. — Fruit large, greenish, and red; 
flesh melting, rich, and juicy; ripe in August. 

The above are free-stones — the following are cling- 
stones. 

Early JVewington. — Fruit large ; green and red ; 
flesh melting, with a rich, sprightly, highly perfumed 
juice ; ripe, end of August. 

Red Rom.an. — Fruit large; yellow and crimson; 

flesh melting, very juicy, and richly perfumed ; ripe 

in September. 

10* 



Hi THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



PEAR. 

The pear in its improved varieties, is one of the 
most delicious fruits of the temperate zone. What 
can be compared to the fine Bergamottes, Beurres, 
Bartletts, Seckels, Washingtons, Vergalieux, and 
many other varieties, when preserved ? and Perry 
made from their juice, is a pleasant and refreshing 
beverage. Yet, notwithstanding all our boasted in- 
telligence and refinement, the culture of the peai- is 
sadly neglected with us in America ; but the great 
fault lies in the exaggerated accounts of the " blight.'' 
This blight, so far as our experience goes, is caused 
by a direct ray of the sun, the first or second year 
after the tree has been transplanted, or when it is 
grown on an improper soil. The wood is hard and 
brittle, and the sap veins very fine. When the tret 
is transplanted, it is long before it makes new fibers 
to sustain itself; the warm weather in spring causes 
the sap to flow; the leaves expand, but there being 
no feeders, the action of the sap is slow. The hot 
sun brazes on it, and scalds it, or dries up the sap, 
either in the stem or branches. The bark shrivels, 
and in a few" days becomes black, as if burned over 
a slow fire ; this is always on the south side of the 
tree : (we have never seen any blight on the north 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 115 



side of the trees.) To prevent the blight, we sew 
wall paper slackly round the stems of newly trans- 
planted trees, the first and second years. This, with 
transplanting in fall, preparing large holes for the 
trees, putting good earth about their roots, and litter 
over them the first winter, watering them in dry 
weather the first summer, (in the evenings.) We 
have never seen pear trees blighted when so treated ; 
but have seen many blighted, when transplanted late 
in spring, stuck into small holes, and left to them- 
selves. 

i\Ir. Downing, in his book on the " Fruits and 
Fruit trees of America," says, there are-two kinds of 
blight, — the one caused by an insect, which deposits 
ts eggs in the trees in July or August ; the grub from 
it, in the following spring, eats into the heart of the 
tree and girdles it, cuts off the downward passage of 
the sap, and kills the tree. The second is the frozen 
sap blight ; in w^arm wet falls the sap is put in motion, 
when a sudden cold snap comes and freezes it, and 
chokes up the veins of the tree in the ensuing spring ; 
the motion of the sap is arrested by this frozen sap, 
W'hich becomes poisoned, and is diluted by the fresh 
sap and circulates through the tree till it kills it. Mr. 
Downing gives the opinions of many distinguished 
Pomologists, in different parts of the countr}^, to prove 
this assertion. We think that our precautions given 
above, may be the means to protect the trees from 



1 1 6 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

Doth llicse blights. So we would advise every cot- 
tager to grow some choice kinds of pears. They 
flourish in all places where we have been : at Boston, 
Long Island, the banks of the Hudson, and many 
parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The tree 
will grow on a great variety of soils, but thrives best 
on rich deep loams. The best Bergamottes, Beutres, 
and Vergalieux we have seen growing, were in the 
garden of E. C. Delavan, Esq., (champion of tem- 
perance,) at Albany ; and the best Bartletts and 
Seckels we ever ate, we got from A. J. Downing, at 
his " Highland Nursery," Newburgh, Orange county, 
N. Y., which he ripened in a drawerof a bureau. J. B. 
Smith, of Philadelphia, grows a choice variety of 
pears ; and generally carries off the Pennsylvania 
Horticultural Society's prizes, for fine pears. 

Bartlelty or Williams Boncretian. — An English, 
noble pear of exceeding excellence ; fruit large, 
yellow, with a red cheek; flesh melting, rich, juicy, 
and perfumed ; ripe in August; tree thrifty and prolific . 

Blood^ood. — Raised by the late J. Bloodgood, 
Long Island; fruit medium size, yellow; flesh melt- 
ing, juicy, rich, and perfumed; ripe in August — 
tree good bearer. 

Bergomot Ganseh.—A highly delicious pear; fruit 
large, yellowish brown ; flesh melting, very juicy, 
rich, and finely perfumed ; ripe in September, and 
keeps till November. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 117 



Beurre Diet. — Fruit five inches long, four inches 
across, yellow ; flesh buttery, with a rich, highly per- 
fumed juice; ripe in October, and keeps till Febru- 
ary — 'good bearer. 

Dix. — An American pear, raised by a Mr. Dix, 
near Boston ; fruit large, yellow ; flesh melting, juicy, 
and richly flavoured ; ripe in October, and keeps till 
January. 

Duchess B''Angoleme. — The queen of pears ; fruit 
five inches long, and four inches across, greenish 
yellow ; flesh very melting and buttery, with abun- 
dance of rich, highly perfumed, sugary juice ; ripe in 
October, and keeps till Feb'y ; tree thrifty and prolific. 

Flemish Beauty. — A magnificent pear, fruit large, 
yellow ; flesh buttery, juicy, sweet, and richly per- 
fumed ; ripe in September; keeps till January. 

Golden Beurre ofBilboa. — Imported by Mr. Hooper, 
Mass. ; fruit medium size, golden colour ; flesh melt- 
ing, juicy, rich, and highly perfumed ; ripe, Septem- 
ber, keeps till January. 

Jargonelle English. — Fruit large, yellowish green ; 
flesh melting, juicy, very rich and perfumed ; ripe in 
August ; tree very thrifty and prolific. 

Seckle. — Originated at Germantown, Philadelphia ; 
fruit small, yellowish brown, dull red on the sunny 
side ; flesh buttery, melting, with a rich, perfumed, 
sugary juice ; ripe in September, and keeps till De- 
cember — very prolific. 



118 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

We clip the following varieties from D. Landreth's 
"Rural Register," a yearly publication, containing 
one hundred pages of instructive matter, and nearly 
a hundred wood-cuts, costing only twelve and a half 
cents a year. 

Haddington. — Orio;inated on the farm of J. B. 
Smith, at Haddington, near Philadelphia ; fruit me- 
dium size, yellowish green; flesh buttery and crisp, 
juicy and finely flavoured ; ripe in December and 
keeps till April — tree thrifty and prolific. 

Moyamensing .—Ov\g\n?i\.eA in the garden of J. B. 
Smith, Philadelphia ; fruit medium size, yellow ; 
flesh buttery, juicy, and richly perfumed ; ripe in July 
— tree prolific. 

Pennsylvania. — Raised from a seed by J. B. Smith, 
Esq., Philadelphia; fruit medium size, brownish 
yellow ; flesh a little gritty, juicy, and richly per- 
fumed ; a choice American variety, ripe in Septem- 
ber — prolific. 

Washington. — An unsurpassed variety, originated 
on the farm of the late Col. Robinson, near Naaman's 
Creek, Delaware ; fruit medium size, yellow ; flesh 
buttery, juicy, and very richly perfumed ; ripe in 
September. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 119 



GATHERING AND KEEPING THE FRUIT. 

The fruit when intended for keeping, should be 
picked off the tree with the hand, before it is fully- 
ripe, on the afternoon of dry days, and dried in the 
sun a few hours — then packed into air-tight boxes or 
barrels, with a layer of soft hay and fruit alternately. 
When the boxes or barrels are full, cov^er them up 
air-tight, and place them where neither frost nor 
damp will come to them. Some strew mint leaves 
among the fruit, to give it a high flavour.' This is 
for winter pears; the summer pears will ripen in a 
desk or drawer, or covered box, without any hay. 
Chaff or coarse bran, well dried, will suit for packing 
instead of hay. Pears budded on quince stocks ara 
very prolific, and never blighted. 



PLUM. 



The plum will grow on any good soil, but with 
few exceptions ; it thrives best, lives longest, and is 
most proline on heavy loams, resting on clayey sub- 



120 THK COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERIC/i. 



soils. J. Denniston, Esq., of Albany, N. Y., who 
has raised many very choice new varieties, and per- 
haps, grows the best plums in the country, grows 
them on heavy loam, resting on a blue clay. When 
the plum is grown on light or sandy soils, it should 
be budded on the peach stock, or the Jefferson plum, 
or Flushing Gage selected, as they thrive equally as 
well on light as heavy soils. The fruit is very nutri- 
tious and wholesome, both in its raw and cooked 
states ; it makes rich preserves, and when dried in 
spent ovens-, is superior to prunes. The trees are 
subject to a disease called *' Knots." So far as 
our experience and observation have taught us, the 
knots are caused by poor and improper soils, the 
want of proper food and culture, and the drought of 
very dry and hot summers. In either case, the tree 
becomes languid, and unable to throw its sap to the 
extremities, in such quick motion as is necessary for 
the health of the tree ; the thick or gummy part 
lodofes in the sides of the stem and branches, the 
brittle part of the stem bursts, the gum oozes out, 
and the soft flexible bark of the branches blisters, in 
what are called knots. These blisters, or knots, are 
at first soft and spongy, and afterwards get so hard 
as to be cut off with difficulty. An insect whose na- 
ture it is to live on the gum, deposits its eggs in the 
knots while they are soft, and in the gum oozing out 
of the stem, and when cutting the knots, grubs are 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMEHICA. 121 

found inside, and also in the gum. From this, it has 
been supposed that the insects sting the trees and 
cause the knots and gum ; and yet the same kind of 
grubs are found in the gum of the peach tree, caused 
b}' the cut-\Yorm. The knots should be cut out, with 
all the spongy bark around them, into the solid wood : 
the gum scraped off the stems, and any loose bark 
around it, the wounds rubbed over with a mixture 
of cattle manure and earth in equal parts, in water, 
to the consistency of good mortar. Spread plenty 
of cattle manure, or lime, or bleached wood-ashes, 
and dig it in around the roots of the tree : and if the 
w-eather is very dry, give plenty of w-ater. We knew 
a plum tree which grew on a flat, at the foot of a 
small hill, where all waters from the house were car- 
ried in an open ditch and spread around the roots of 
the tree. That tree flourished, and was free of knots, 
and yielded fruit in abundance, w-hile other pluin 
trees in the neighbourhood were covered with knots. 
Afterwards, an under drain was made, w'hich carried 
the Vv'aters away in another direction ; the tree ever 
after that had knots; the ground around it was not 
cultivated, but was overgrown with coarse grass. 
We also knew an instance of the same kind with an 
English Marrelo cherry tree. 

Mr. Downing, in his Fruits and Fruit trees of 
America, says, " these knots are a disease attacking 

the bark and wood ; the passage of the sap upwards, 

11 



122 niE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



becomes stopped by the campression of the brancli 
by the tumour, and finally, the poison seems to dis- 
seminate itself by the downward flow of the sap 
throuoh the whole trunk. The kinds most attacked 
are those with purple fruit. There is yet some doubt 
respecting the cause of these knotty excrescences, 
though there is every reason to think them the work 
of an insect. Prof. Peck and Dr. Harris believe 
that they are caused by the plum weevil that stings 
the fruit. The second brood, finding no fruit, choose 
the branches of this tree and the cherry. This obser- 
vation seems to be confirmed, by the grubs of the 
weevil being found in the w-arts. On the other hand, 
in some parts, where the weevil has been trouble- 
some to the fruit for m.any years, the knots have not 
been known ; and again, the knots have been abun- 
dant where the fruit was not touched. These facts 
are irreconcilable, and w^e believe that to some other 
insect or cause, we owe this unsightly disease." An 
insect deposits its eggs in the fruit shortly after it is 
set, which lives on the kernel of the stone, and 
causes it to fall from the tree before it is ripe. The 
fruit should be gathered as soon as it falls, and burned 
or put into the pigs' tub, which will destroy the 
insect. If fresh slacked lime or ashes be sown over 
the tree once a week, for three successive weeks after 
the fruit is set, the insect will not be troublesome. 
Bvngliam. — A native of Pennsylvania ; fruit large, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 123 



yellow, melting, rich and juicy ; ripe in August, tree 
very thrifty and prolific. 

Blcecker''s Gage. — Raised by Mrs. Bieecker, of 
Albany, N. Y. ; fruit medium size, yellow, sweet and 
delicious ; ripe in August, tree good bearer. 

Co^''s Golden Broji. — Fruit large, yellow ; flesh 
firm, rich, and finely flavoured ; ripe in September, 
tree very thrifty and prolific. 

Denniston's Superb. — Raised by Mr. Denniston, of 
Albany ; fruit medium size, pale green, rich, juicy, 
and perfumed, tree great bearer. 

Emerald Drop. — Raised by Mr. Downing, at his 
celebrated ''Highland Nurseries," Newburgh, Orange 
county, N. Y., and said to be very choice ; fruit 
medium size, yellowish green, melting, rich, and 
delicious; ripe in August, tree thrifty and prolific. 

Green Gage. — Fruit small, green, sweet, rich, and 
delicious; ripe in August, tree very prolific. 

Hulling''s Superb. — Raised by Mr. Keyser, of Penn- 
sylvania, and named in honour to Dr. Wrn. G. Hul- 
lings, who first brought it into notice ; fruit very 
large and beautiful, yellow, rich, sweet, and highly 
perfumed ; ripe in August, tree thrifty and prolific. 

Jefferson. — The best of all plums, raised by the late 
Judge Buel ; fruit large, yellow, with a red cheek, 
very rich and delicious ; ripe in August, great bearer. 

Imperial Gage, or Flushing Gage. — Raised by the 
late Mr. Prince, of Flushing Nursery ; fruit medium 



124 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

size, pale green, juicy, rich and perfumed; ripe in 
September. 

TVashmgton. — Fruit large, yellow ; flesh firm, rich, 
and well flavoured ; ripe in September. 

White Magnum Bonum. — Fruit very large, pale 
yellow; flesh firm, rich, and perfumed. 

Damson. — Fruit small, tart ; first rate for preserves ; 
dark purple ; ripe in September, very great bearer. 
Columbian Gage. — Very large, purple, and delicious. 

Cruger'^s Scarlet. — Raised by H. Cruger, Esq., N. 
Y. ; fruit medium size, red, very rich and delicious. 

Kirkes Plum. — Fruit medium size, purple, rich, 
and very delicious; tree a wonderful great bearer. 

Orleans. — Small, purple, delicious; very prolific. 

Purple Gage. — Medium size, purple, delicious, and 
prolific. 



QUINCE. 

The quince appears to thrive on every soil and 
situation, and is, perhaps, an inhabitant of every 
cottage garden in America : never failing to yield a 
full crop of fruit, which is unfit for use in its raw 
state, but excels all other kinds of fruit when stewed 
or preserved. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 125 

Jlpple Shaped. — Fruit large, orange round ; flesh 
firm, j'^iicy, and stews tender; excellent for preserv- 
ing ; ripe in October. 

Pear Shaped. — Fruit medium size, oblong, yellow ; 
flesh firm and good, but not equal to the apple shaped ; 
ripe in October. 

Portugal. — Fruit large, yellow, tender, and juicy ; 
ripe in October, very prolific. 



RASPBERRY. 

The raspberry will grow on many kinds of soils, 

but flourishes best, and is most prolific on deep rich 

loams ; the fruit comes into use after the strawberry, 

and is used at the table in the same way, i. e., eaten 

with cream and sugar. It makes the finest jams and 

jellies, and raspberry vinegar is the most pleasant of 

all summer drinks. The plants should be planted 

five feet apart each w^ay, putting four or five canes 

to each plant ; the fruit is produced on the canes or 

shoots of last year's growth, which die off in fall, and 

are followed by a succession of young shoots of the 

present year's growth. A stick one or two inches in 

11* 



126 THE C }TTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



diameter, should be driven into the ground close to 
the side, or in the middle of each bush, and the 
canes tied up to it, which will support them when 
loaded with fruit. In fall, all the old shoots should 
be cut out, and the young ones tied up to the sticks, 
and six inches cut off their lengths ; twelve or fifteen 
canes will be enough to tie up for each bush. Select 
the strongest, and cut away the others. By this, the 
fruit will be larger, better coloured, better flavoured, 
and more in measure. The plants should be ma- 
nured and dug between every fall, and all outstreach- 
ed suckers cut up. They should be kept clear of 
weeds in summer, by frequently hoeing between 
them when the sticks fail or get rotten ; they should 
be renewed, but frames should never be put up for 
them. [The most unsightly object we ever saw in a 
small cottage garden, was a large out- spreading frame, 
with a single row of rampant growing raspberries 
inside.] The varieties suitable for a cottage garden, 
are those which never attain more than six feet in 
height, and are of robust growth. They are propa- 
gated by suckers, and should not occupy the same 
piece of ground more than eight or ten years ; and 
new beds or rows should be planted w^ith the suckers 
of the old ones, two years before the old bed or row 
'is uprooted. 

Red Antwerp. — Is the largest, most delicious, and 
prolific of all raspberries; of strong robust growth, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 127 

very hardy, never reaching more than five feet high; 
fruit large, deep red ; ripe in July. 

White or Yellow Antvjerp. — Is the largest, most 
prolific, and delicious, light coloured raspberries; 
rather tender north of New York city ; requires tieing 
up with straw in winter; fruit dull yellow ; ripe in 
July — grows five feet high. 

Fastolof. — This is a raspberry of English origin. 
D. Landreth, seeds and nurseryman, Philadelphia, 
in his " Rural Register " says, it is recently received 
from England, has produced fruit two years in Phila- 
delphia, and seems to surpass all others ; fruit dull 
red, melting, juicy, highly perfumed, and very pro- 
lific. 

Francoma,—A choice French variety ; fruit large, 
tender, melting, juicy, and perfumed ; dull red colour, 
of robust growth, five feet high ; ripe in July — very 
thrifty and prolific. 

Ohio. — Brought into notice by that most indefati- 
gable Horticulturist, Mr. Longwarth, of Cincinnati ; 
fruit medium size, nearly black ; produced from July 
till November. 

The above are very choice varieties — the following 
are good varieties. 

Barnet. — Fruit large, dull red, nearly equal to the 
red Antwerp; very prolific and of robust growth; 
five feet high, very hardy. 

Brentford. — Fruit medium size, dull red, melting, 



128 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

juicy, and finely flavoured ; prolific, of robust growth, 
five feet high, and very hardy. 

KneveVs Giant. — Fruit large, deep red, rich, and 
melting ; prolific, hardy, and robust. 



STRAWBERRY. 

The strawberry is one of the most delicious and 
wholesome of small fruits. What can be compared 
to a dish of "ripe strawberries smothered in sugar 
and cream ?" Excellent jams and jellies are made 
from them ; and they are used to give flavour to ice 
creams, etc. 

The plants will grow on almost every kind of soil, 
but thrive best, and are most prolific on rich loam., 
and in an open situation. Plant them in rows, the 
larger fruiting kinds should be planted eighteen in- 
ches apart in the rows, and the rows twenty-seven 
inches and thirty-six inches apart alternately. When 
the plants are full grown, their foliage will cover the 
narrow rows, and the wide rows v.ill suit to go in to 
pick the fruit, i. e., pick a row" on each side. The 
smaller fruiting kinds maybe planted fourteen inches 
apart in the rows, and the rows twenty-four inches 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF A?,:ERICA. 129 



and thirty inches alternately. The planting may be 
performed in April or September. Those planted in 
April will produce a few berries the same year, and 
a full crop the succeeding year ; those planted in 
September will yield a half crop the following sum- 
mer, and a full crop the succeeding year. They will 
require a slight covering of litter the first winter. In 
spring, after the hard frosts are over, dig between 
the rows and plants, and sow fresh slacked lime over 
the bed after it is dug, at the rate of a peck per rood. 
The lime is very fertilizing for the strawberry, and 
will have the tendency to kill insects and slugs in 
the ground, which are just then coming into active 
life. When the plants are coming into bloom, hoe 
and rake all the weeds off the bed, and spread straw 
or short grass between the rows and plants. Some 
spread long straw between the rows, and cut straw 
between the plants; short grass is best, as it is not so 
easily displaced. This straw or grass is to keep the 
fruit off the ground, and prevent the earth from being 
washed up by the rains. When the fruit is all picked, 
cut all the dead leaves off the plants, and clear the 
bed of straw, weeds, and runners; give it a deep 
h'oeing, rake fine, and keep it clean by hoeing and 
raking through the summer. Be sure to cut off all 
runners every time the bed is cleaned. In fall, spread 
short manure between the rows and plants, to be dug 
in, in spring. The plants are propagated by the 



130 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

young plants formed on the string-like runners, which 
grow out of the main plants. When a new bed is 
to be planted, let the runners grow to supply the 
plants ; choose a rainy day to plant out ; lift the 
young plants with a trowel, with as much earth as 
will stick to them, and separate them from the run- 
ners. If the weather sets in dry after they are planted, 
water them once or twice. The Alpine strawberry 
makes no runners, and is propagated by dividing the 
plants. Strawberries should not remain on the same 
piece of ground longer than four years; indeed, three 
years is long enough. A new bed should be planted 
out a year before the old one is dug up. By the 
above method, w^e have grown " Hovey's Seedling" 
five and a half inches in circumference, and " Keen's 
Seedling" four and a half inches ; and in such abun- 
dance as they might have been shoveled into the 
basket. Some plant their strawberries in beds four 
feet wade, and the plants a foot apart each way, and 
let them run promiscuously, until the bed is a com- 
plete sod of strawberries. Those who follow this 
plan never produce a good strawberry ; for by it, the 
size, colour, and flavour of the fruit are lost. 

Dundee. — An excellent Scotch strawberry ; fruit 
large, scarlet, firm, lich, juicy, and perfumed ; ripe 
in June — very hardy and prolific. 

Duke of Kent. — Fruit small, scarlet, melting, juicy, 
and finely flavoured ; ripe in May. 



THE COTTAOE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 131 



Hudson. — Fruit large, scarlet, firm, juicy, and well 
flavoured ; ripe in June — thrifty and prolific. 

Large Early Scarlet. — An American variety ; fruit 
large, scarlet, melting, juicy, and richly perfumed; 
ripe in May — very hardy, thrifty and prolific. 

Horey^s Seedling. — Of all the delicious productions 
of the earth, this strawberry is one of the choicest and 
most prolific; fruit immensely large and beautiful, shi- 
ning scarlet ; flesh firm, rich, with a delicious, sprightly, 
perfumed juice ; an abundant bearer, and very hardy ; 
ripe in June. It w^as raised by Messrs. Hovey, seeds 
and nurserymen, Boston, and conductors of " Hoveys' 
Gardeners' Magazine," an instructive and very 
scientific monthly periodical. Mr. Downing says, 
" It is known throughout all the States, and has 
proved superior to all other large fruiting kinds;" Mr. 
Landreth very justly says, " too much cannot be said 
in its praise." Mr. Buist says, " it is the best straw- 
berry I ever grew ;" and Mr. Longwarth offers five 
hundred dollars for another to equal it. Its fruitful 
organs ai'e perfect, but the stamens are rather defi- 
cient of pollen, and fail to impregnate the pistils. If 
rainy w^eather continues when they are in bloom. 
Keen's seedling should always be grown along with 
it, two rows of Hovey's to one row^ of Keen's, is a 
fair proportion. 

Kecfi's Seeiling. — An English variety, fruit very 
large — dull red — firm, rich, juicy and highly per- 



132 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA, 

fumed, and stands next to Hovey's seedling for ex- 
cellence, ripe in June. 

Ross Phenie. — An excellent variety, raised by our 
friend and old acquaintance Mr. Alexander Ross, of 
Hudson, N. Y. fruit very large— dark red, flesh firm, 
juicy, rich, and of the finest flavour ; organs perfect ; 
very prolific and hardy ; well deserving a place in 
every well-kept garden ; ripe in June. 

((We clip thetwo following varieties from D. Lan- 
dreth's Rural Register. 

Wasldngton. — Brought into notice by D. Lan- 
dreth's seeds and nurseryman, Philadelphia ; fruit 
medium size, deep red; flesh firm, rich and perfumed ; 
ripe in June. 

CusJnug. — Raised by that indefatigable cultivator 
Dr. Wm. C. Brinckle, of Philadelphia, and named 
in respect to J. P. Gushing of Boston ; fruit very 
large, scarlet — very delicious, and is quite new ; per- 
fect in its organs, and very prolific, ripe in June.)) 

Methven. — An old English variety, fruit very large 
— deep scarlet, rich and well flavoured, very thrifty 
and hardy, and stands next to Hovey's seedling as a 
great bearer. [Mr. Downing says " about Philadel- 
phia this sort was cultivated for the Keen's seedling" 
and D. Landreth says " called Keen's seedling erro- 
neously." It must be very singular for this variety 
to be grown around far famed Philadelphia, for Keen's 
seedling, the plants surely had to be imported and 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 133 

not got from our nurserymen here. A more scientific, 
practical, discerning and honest class of men, is no 
where to be found than are Philadelphia nurserymen. 
We could name several of them who have grown both 
varieties for twenty-five years, (R. Buist is an exam- 
ple,) the Methven is a thriftier grower, more prolific, 
the fruit more regular in size, rounder, lighter red, 
and less finely flavoured than Keen's seedling.] 

BmsVs Prize seedling. — A very superior variety, 
raised by R. Buist, seeds and nurseryman Philadel- 
phia ; fruit medium size, light crimson, rich melting 
and finely perfumed ; ripe middle of May, very pro- 
lific, gained the prize of the Pennsylvania Horticul- 
tural society in 1835, for the best seedling, and the 
first prize in 1848 for the best early strawberry. 

For a greater variety and fuller description of 
fruits, the reader is referred to " Downing's Fruits 
and Fruit trees of America." 



PRICES OF FRUIT TREES IN NURSERIES. 

The following is the rate of prices of good varieties 

as sold in the nurseries — poor kinds are cheaper, rare 

kinds dearer. 

12 



134 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



Apple 


25 cents 


each $20 per 


hundred 


Apricot 


50 " 


" $40 " 


(( 


Cherries 


50 " 


" $40 " 


cc 


Peach 


12 '' 


" $10 '' 


a 


Nectarine 


25 *' 


" $20 " 


<( 


Pear 


50 " 


" $40 " 


(< 


Plum 


50 " 


" $40 '^ 


tc 


Quince 


40 " 


" $35 " 


(C 


Currants 


15 " 


'' $150'^ 


dozen 


Gooseberries 30 " 


cc j|3 u 


i( 


Grapevine 


50 " 


$5 " 


a 


Raspberry 


30 " 


cc ^3 a 


(C 



Strawberry 50 cts. per dozen $2 to $6 per hundred. 



REMARKS. 



Let no person be deterred from planting fruit trees, 
merely because they are subject to disease and the 
prey of insects, hundreds of our farmers grow large 
orchards, and are never troubled with disease or in- 
sects except the common caterpillar, which every 
body knows how to destroy. Select young thrifty 
trees ; prepare the ground properly for them ; lift 
them with good roots ; make large holes to plant 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 135 

them in ; put good earth about their roots ; let the 
time of taking up, and planting be as short between 
as possible ; keep the ground well enrichened and 
pulverized around them ; — and neither insects or dis- 
ease will be troublesome. 

Choosing trees in the nursery. — Choose trees from 
five to eight feet high, with straight clean stems, 
smooth, shining bark, prominant buds, and neat light 
heads. Make the choice in fall, before all the best 
are sold. 



TRANSPLANTING TREES. 

It is seldom that people exhibit so much folly as 
they do in planting trees and other woody plants, 
they are got sound from the nurseries; small holes 
are dug, and they are stuck in them, with their roots 
bent or coiled to fit the size and shape of the holes ; 
the lumpy earth is thrown in at random, and tramped 
about their roots, and of course they are planted. 
The apple and shade trees becomes stunted, the pear 
blighted, plum knotty, cherry barkbound, nectarine 
and peach get the yellows, shrubs die, and ever- 
greens give up the ghost; and who but the nursery- 



136 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

man is to blame, for sending healthy trees to be 
killed. 

A person intending to stock his garden with fruit 
trees, should decide on the number and kinds he is 
to plant, and appoint and prepare berths for them. 
Dig a hole for each, two feet w^ide and eighteen 
inches deep ; lay the first spade depth taken out of 
the hole on one side of it, and throw that taken out 
of the bottom a little ways off; take a few spadefulls 
of top soil off the bed, and lay it beside that first 
taken out of the hole, and put a half bushel of short 
manure on the other side of the hole, then send to 
some respectable nurseryman for trees. As soon as 
they arrive, get them planted without delay. Put 
three inches of the manure in the bottom of the holes, 
and six inches of earth above it. Set the tree in the 
hole, in such a way that all the roots will lay out in 
their natural positions; let one person hold it in its 
place, and another to break the earth fine, and fill it 
gently into the hole. When all the roots are covered, 
give the tree a gentle shake and pull up, so that it 
will be no deeper than it grew in the nursery, and 
give it a slight lean to the northwest, tramp the earth 
firm about its roots, then fill in the rest of the manure 
and earth above it, and tramp again. If this is done 
in fall, spread long manure around the trees as far as 
their roots extend, and remove it in spring. If 
planted in spring and the trees come far, give each 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 137 

tree a pailful of water, after its roots are covered 
with earth and tramped, and let it soak away before 
the holes are filled up. — If the trees should arrive in 
the time of, or after a great rain, while the earth is 
saturated with water, get them unpacked and dig a 
large hole and set them in it, and cover their roots 
with earth. If the garden has been trenched, all 
that will be needed in planting is to dig holes large 
enough to admit their spreading roots. All hardy 
woody plants, properly transplanted from the first of 
November till the setting in of severe frost, will 
grow more, and stand the summer's drought better 
the first year, than those transplanted in spring; and 
not one out often thousand will die. 



WATERING TREES NEWLY PLANTED. 

Water is a sort of nutriment, and an important 

agent in culture. All plants require a certain degree 

of moisture in the soil, as their roots cannot absorb 

food that is not held in solution by water ; and if 

water is not furnished either by nature or art, at the 

proper time, the trees will fall short of what they 

otherwise would be. On the other hand, if water is 

12* 



138 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

given in excess, to excite an unnatural growth in the 
tree, while under a scorching sun, death is likely to 
ensue. When small quantities of water are poured 
frequently on the surface, they do more evil than 
good; they are generally lost by evaporation, and if 
not, they attract the roots too much to the surface, 
and prevents them from penetrating into the soil on 
which the tree most depends for nourishment in times 
of a great drought. When trees need watering, the 
earth should be drawn away from their stems three 
inches deep, and as far as their roots extend. 
This v/ill form a basin, which will hold as much 
water at once as w^ill reach all the roots. Trees from 
five to eight feet high should get at least three or four 
gallons at each time, and once in two weeks will be 
often enough if it does not rain, water should be ap- 
plied in the evenings, or on cloudy days. After it 
has sunk into the earth, the soil wdiich forms the 
basin should again be replaced around the trees. All 
liquid manures are hot in their natures, and -do not 
descend into the earth to the same depth as pure 
water; they should only be applied after heavy rains, 
or when the earth is already moist with artificial 
watering. They do most good to plants if applied to 
them when they are in a dormant state. 



Tlili COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 139 



PRUNING TREES. 

The proper time to prune is when the trees are in 
a dormant state, and the sooner after the leaves fall 
the better. The objects in pruning are, the cutting 
out of superabundant branches, shortening those too 
much extended, balancing the heads of the trees, and 
training them in a symmertical form. When many 
fruit trees are grown in small gardens, and vegetables 
grow^n under them, they should be trained spiiady i.e. 
cut in the spreading branches and encourage the 
erect. If there is space enough for the trees to spread, 
and nothing grown under them, the erect brandies 
should be cut off, and the spreading ones left, so as 
to have as much of the fruit hand picked as possible. 
If any tree leans to one side, the branches should be 
mostly cut off the side it leans to. Small branches 
may be cut with a sharp knife, the large can be 
sawed close off to the stems or branches they grow 
to, and the cut smoothed off with a knife, so that the 
bark will soon grow over the wounds ; and the 
wounds should be rubbed over with cattle manure 
and earth mixed in water, to the consistency of good 
mortar. The heads of the trees should be kept open, 
so that the sun and air may get in to colour and fla- 



140 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

vour the fruit. All branches should at least be eigh- 
teen inches apart ; a tree in beautiful symmetry is a 
noble object. 



CULINARY VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

"A garden in which all thing's thrive ; 
Cheers and pleases the possessor." 

This is the most useful and necessary department 
of the garden. Those devoid of fine taste may do 
without flowers, and even without fruits, but without 
wholesome culinary vegetables no one can do. They 
form part of our daily food, and without them neither 
life nor health can long exist. 



ARTICHOKE-— LARGE GLOBE. 

Plant either in fall or spring, three feet apart each 
way ; keep the ground enrichened with manures, 
and clear of weeds, by hoeing and digging. The 
only part for use is the immature flower buds. They 
are peeled and fried in paste, or eaten as a salad. 
They are propagated by suckers, and increase very 
fast. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 141 

ASrARAGUS — GIANT. 

Sow the seeds as soon as the ground is free of frost 
in spring, in drills one inch deep, and twelve inches 
apart, and the seed one inch apart in the drills. Then 
give them a good watering with boiling water. They 
are to be covered with the earth drawn out of the 
drills and well tramped. Keep them free of weeds, 
and in two years the plants will be fit to set out into 
beds. Line out a bed four and a half feet wide, and 
of any length desired, dig out the surface earth three 
inches deep, and lay it on the sides of the bed ; then 
spread short well-rotted manure three inches thick 
over the bed, dig it well in, and smooth off with the 
rake ; then line out four rows on the bed lengthways 
twelve inches apart, and the two outer rows nine 
inches from the edges of the bed. Place the plants 
flat on the rows twelve inches apart; this will make 
them twelve inches apart each way; then fill up the 
bed with the earth taken out, and dress it neatly off 
with the rake. Drive a strong stick in at each cor- 
ner of the bed, to show its extent. The planting can 
be done either in spring or fall. If more than one 
bed is made, leave an alley two feet wide between 
them, to walk in and gather the crop; but no crop 
should be gathered until two years after planting. A 
row of corn or cabbages may be grown on the alleys 
the two first years. Keep the beds free of weeds, 



143 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

and every fall cut off the dead stalks, spread short 
manure over the beds two inches thick, and dig it 
lightly in with a dung fork in spring. Never use a 
spade to dig the beds, as it is apt to cut the crowns 
of the plants, and cause them to bleed to death. Salt 
is an excellent manure for asparagus, and all the salt 
brine about the house should be spread over the 
bed. Lime is also good for asparagus. 



BEANS— BUSH OR STRING. 

MOHAWK — EARLY VALENTINE LATE VALENTINE. 

Plant in drills three inches deep and thirty inches 
apart, and the seeds two inches apart in the drills. 
Cover them with the earth taken out of the drills, 
and tramp it down. The first planting may be put 
in early. in May; and the second first of June ; and 
for fall use or pickling, plant first week in August. 
The mohawk is the earliest, and will stand a slight 
frost; the early valentine is the most prolific for sum- 
mer use ; and the late valentine is best for fall use 
and pickling. Hoe between the rows, and keep free 
of weeds. 



BEANS rOLE CASEKNIFE LIMA. 

Plant the Caseknife early in May, in hills three 
feet apart each way ; put five seeds into each hill, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 143 



plant the lima latter part of May, in hills four feet 
apart each way. Put seven seeds in at each hill, 
When they come up, put a strong pole to each hill 
for them to twine upon. The caseknife will need 
poles eight feet long, the lima, will want poles ten 
feet long. If the seeds all come up, cut off all but 
three to each pole ; and when they make runners 
twelve inches long, tie them slackly up to the poles. 
After that, they will run up themselves. Pole beans 
require rich ground, and w^ell pulverized by frequent 
hoeings during summer. Keep free of w^eeds. The 
best plan is to set the poles first, and plant the seeds 
around them. The different kinds should be grown 
apart from each other, as their fructifying qualities 
are apt to mix, and make impure seed. 



BEET. 

EARLY TURNIP ROOTED LONG BLOOD. 

Beets delight in rich yellow ground, having been 
manured for the previous crop. Sow the seeds in 
drills one inch deep and fourteen inches apart; cover 
them up and tramp firm. The turnip rooted can be 
sowed as so( n as the frost is out of the ground in 
spring, for summer use, and the long blood in June, 
for fall and winter use. Hoe well between the rows, 
and keep free of weeds. When the plants are two 



114 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

inches high, thin them out to four inches apart. Dig 
up the roots before hard frost in fall, put them in the 
cellar among dry earth, and plant out a few of tlie 
best in spring to raise seed. 



BORECOLE —OR SCOTCH KALE. 

Sow in April in drills half inch deep and six inches 
apart. Cover and tramp them , keep free of weeds ; 
transplant into rows thirty inches apart, and twenty 
inches apart in the rows in June. They are for win- 
ter use, and are best after getting a hard frost. They 
make a delicious dish when boiled alonir with salt 
pork. 



'o 



UROCOLI — rURPLE CAPE LARGE AVIIITE. 

Tins is a species of cabbage with long leaves and 
cheese-like heart, which is very tender and delicious. 
Sow in drills half inch deep and six inches apart 
in June ; transplant into rows thirty inches apart 
each way in August, and use the hearts when they 
become full grown, which will be in October and 
November. The leaves are not for use. Brocoli 
delights in rich loam, and is best in wet seasons. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 145 

EARLY CABBAGE. 

EARLY YORK EARLY VANACK LA.XDRETu's LARGE 

EARLY. 

Around Philadelphia, and south of it, earlj cab- 
bage seeds are sowed middle of September in drills 
half inch deep and six inches apart, covered, and 
the earth pressed firm on them and well watered, if 
the weather continues dry until they are up. Early 
in November, they are transplanted into a well-shel- 
tered spot facing the south. The bed is made slo- 
ping towards the south. A box or frame is made 
with four boards nailed together, and set on the bed, 
half sunk, and half banked up. The plants are 
planted inside of this frame an inch apart each way, 
lids are made to cover the frame in wet or severe 
cold weather, during winter. They are tilted up in 
front in mild weather, and held up with sticks four 
or five feet long. In March, they are transplanted 
into the open ground in rows thirty inches apart, and 
eighteen inches apart in the rows. This plan does 
not succeed well north of Philadelphia; so it is bet- 
ter to sow them in hot beds in March, and transplant 
them into the open ground end of April or May. 
They should be dusted over tudce with fresh lime or 
ashes in the mornings, to keep off the small black-Oy, 
which is very destructive to them when newly trans- 
planted. 
^ 13 



146 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA, 

LATE CABBAGE. 

DRUMHEAD FLAT DUTCH SAVOY. 

Sow late cabbage seed in April, in drills half incL 
deep, and six inches apart; when the young plants 
come up, dust them over with fresh slacked lime 
twice a week in the mornings, while they are wet 
with dew, to keep off the small black-fly. After the 
plants have four leaves, they will require no more 
dustings, as they then outgrow the flies. Transplant 
them in June and July, into rows thirty inches apart 
each way. Hoe well between the rows and keep 
them free of weeds ; and on the approach of cold 
weather, dig them up, and put them in the cellar, or 
plant them close together in a bed, covering all but 
the heads with earth. Cover the heads with straw. 
All kinds of cabbages delight in rich mellow ground. 



CARROTS. 

EARLY HORN LONG ORANGE. 

Sow in drills half inch deep and fourteen inches 
apart. The early horn can be sowed as soon as the 
ground is fit to dig in spring for summer use, and 
the long orange in June, for fall and winter use. 
Cover the seed, and tramp the earth firm on them. 
When the plants are two inches high, thin them to 
three inches apart, hoe between the rows and keep 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 147 

clear of weeds. Late in fall dig them up, and put 
them in the cellar among the dry earth; and in 
spring plant out a few of the best for raising seeds. 



CAULIFLOWER. 

EARLY ASIATIC LATE DUTCH. 

Manage the early asiatic, as directed for early 
cabbage, and the late dutch as brocoli, and make 
the ground very rich. 



CELERY. 

WHITE SALID RED SALID. 

As soon as the frost is out of the ground in spring, 
sow the seeds in drills quarter inch deep, and eighth 
inches apart. Cover with the back of the rake ; 
tramp the earth firm on them, and give them a good 
watering with boiling water immediately after sow- 
ing, and they will vegetate more freely. Without 
this, they often take six weeks before they sprout. 
Some of the largest plants may be transplanted into 
rows in June, for summer use, and the others at in- 
tervals, till the first of August. The following is 
considered the most approved mode of after culture: 
draw drills with a hoe, six inches deep, and four feet 
apart ; then draw back the earth from their edges, 



148 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

and smooth off with the rake. When finished, the 
drills will be like concave furrows, and the space 
between them like convex ridges. The furrows are 
then dug one spade in breadth, and the earth broken 
fine in the process ; a line is stretched along the fur- 
rows Iheir whole length, and the plants are set in 
them six inches apart. Short manure is either dug 
in, or spread on the surface after the plants have 
taken root. A row of radishes or lettuce is grown 
on the middle of the ridges. When the plants are 
six inches high, earth is drawn off the ridges up to 
their sides: once every two weeks, as they progress 
in growth, the part covered with earth becomes 
blanched, and is the only part fit to eat. The green 
leaves are only used to garnish dishes and to flavour 
soups and stuffings. Plaster of paris, and bleached 
wood-ashes are excellent manures for celery. The 
plants should be transplanted when it rains, or im- 
mediately after, and should get one or two good 
waterings if the weather sets in very dry after they 
are transplanted. Indeed celery cannot get too much 
water. The earth should be dry when drawn up to 
the plants ; the afternoons of sunny days is the best 
time to earth up. On the approach of cold w^eather 
in fall, the plants are dug up, and planted among 
good earth in the cellar, where they will blanch and 
be ready for use when needed ; or they may be 
planted in a bed in the open ground ; in a well- 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 149 

sheltered spot. The plants may be two inches apart 
in the rows of the bed ; and the rows four inches 
apart. The bed should slope greatly towards the 
southj to carry off the rains in winter. An embank- 
ment of earth may be made on the north side eigh- 
teen inches higher than the plants; and the plants 
should be covered with long straw, lengthways across 
the bed, and boards laid on it to keep it from being 
blown away. The straw is not to be put on until 
the hard frost is fairly set in. A few dozens of plants 
can be taken into the cellar on mild days, where 
they will be ready for use. Plant out a few of the 
best in spring to produce seed. 



CRESS OR PEPPER GRASS. 

Sow early in spring in drills half inch deep, four 
joches wide, and eighth inches apart. . When the 
^-jlants are two inches high, cut them off with a knife, 
and eat them as a salad. They wdll grow up again 
and afford two or three cuttings. The seeds should 
be sow^ed very thick, and well tramped in ; leave a 
part of a row entire for seed. 

13* 



150 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



CUCUMBER. 

EARLY FIIAME LONG GREEN. 

Manure and dig the ground well for cucumbers; 
make marks live feet apart each way, and plant a 
dozen seeds at each mark. If they all grow, thin 
them out to three at each place when the plants have 
four leaves. There is a green and yellow striped 
bug, which devours the young plants with great ra- 
pidity unless prevented. Dust the plants over with 
fresh lime or ashes, in the mornings, while they are 
wet with dew, twice a week, until they have four 
large leaves. After that they will outgrow the bugs. 
The early frame is best for summer use ; plant early 
in May. The long green is best for fall use and 
pickling; plant in August. Let a few of the largest 
fruits ripen oil' for seed: the places where the seeds 
are planted, should not be elevated, but rather hal- 
lowed out. The cucumber is a half aquatic plant, 
and can hardly get too much water. Hoe the ground 
frequently and keep free of weeds. 



EGO PLANT PURPLE WHITE. 

The purple is grown as a culinary vegetable. Sow 
in a liot bod in March, and transplant into the open 
ground in June, thirty inches apart each way. They 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 151 

require rich ground, and the warmest spot in the 
garden. When the fruit is four or six inches long, 
and three or four inches across, they are fit for use. 
Peel and cut them into slices like a steak ; salt and 
pepper each slice, and place them on a plate one 
above the other. Let them stand so an hour: then 
press on them to squeeze out the juice, and pour it 
off. Make a batter with eggs and flour ; dip each 
slice in the batter and fry in butter. They taste so 
much like a pork steak, that many who eat them 
without knowing what they are, say that they are the 
sweetest flesh meat they ever ate. The white variety 
IS raised the same way^ but unfit to eat; it is grown 
among t;he flowers for ornament. 



ENDIVE. 

CURLED BROAD LEAVED, 

In June, sow in drills half inch deep, and six 
inches apart ; and in August, transplant them twelve 
inches apart each way. When their leaves coverall 
the space between them, gather them neatly together 
and tie them up with strings, and draw the earth up 
around them. When the inner leaves get white, 
they are fit for use, and eaten as a salad. It is only 
the blanched part that is eaten. 



152 TIIK COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



INDIAN CORN. 

EARLY SUGAR TUSCAUOKA (U)<)M;r's PROLIFIC. 

Manurh and dig the giotind well for Indian corn, 
nnd plant three feet apart each way. Put five or 
neven seeds in at each place, and il" all grow, pull 
all up but three at each place ^vhen \\\vy are four 
inches high; dust lime or ashes over and around tlie 
plants to keep oil" the grub and wire-worm, if the 
.sod is sandy, plaster of paiis wdl he better than 
either ashes or lime. When the plants are eight 
inches high, draw up a little earth around them to 
serve as a supj)orl, and displace.all suckers which 
grow out of the bottom of the main plants. Iloe fre- 
cpiently between the rows and around the j)lants, 
and keep clear of weeds. The iirst ])lanting might 
be i)ut in Iirst of May, and at intervals until the first 
of July lor succession. 



IIORSK RADISH. 
Manure the ground, and dig it deep; make holes 
one inch wide, twelve inches deep and twelve inches 
apart each way. Plant a ])iece of root two inches 
lontr into each hole; and let them till uj) with the 
weather, and in two years they will have large roots 
fit for use. The planting can be done either in spring 
or fall. 



TIIK COTTAOE OAKUKN Ol" AM K KM; A. 153 



LEEK. 

i.AK(;ii: acjoTcii — ji:.\(;LiJiii ii,a(;. 

'I'm; large Scotch leek, is far siipeiior to llie I'lnj^- 
lish lla;^ in every respect. Sow in April, iti diills 
liairiiicli (l(M'p and (Mj^iit inches apart, and tiansplant 
iioin June to August in drills three inches deep, and 
twelve inches apart. (*ive a good watering aftcT 
transplanting, even if it rains. Hoe helween the 
rows and k't the drills fill up wilh lh(! hoein'j:. The 
plants should h(^ loin- inches apart in th(.' drills. Keep 
lr(.'(,' of weeds, 'i'lui le(;k is us(;d in soups and stews, 
and is ornr (jf tin' wholcsomest of all vcgdaMcs ; and 
*' Cocky Lccky" (as tin; Scotch call it) thai, is; leeks 
hoiled arul mashed in butter, is a certain cure (or 
Aslhnia. in use all winter. 



LETTtJCE. 

PIIILADELPIIIA HEAD CUKLIM) fXHIAN. 

Sow in 4lrllls half inch deep and six inches apart. 
When th(; plants have leaves two inches long, trans- 
plant into rich ground twelve inches apart each way. 
The Philadelphia produces large firm heads, and is 
very hardy. Sow it at the same time, and cultivate 
it in the way as directed for early cabhage, except 



154 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

the distance apart. The curled Indian is best for 
summer use; sow in April and at intervals through 
the summer. 



MUSK MELON. 

NUTMEG — CITRON PINE-APrLE. 

Manure and dig the ground well for Musk Melons. 
Plant them in May, six feet apart each way. Put 
twelve seeds in at each place and if all grow, pull 
up ail but three at a place when the plants are four 
inches high. Dust them with lime or ashes, in the 
mornings while wet with de\v, twice a week, until 
they have four large leaves, to keep off grubs and 
bugs. The fruit will be ripe in August. It has a 
sweet scent, and parts from the vine on being touched 
when ripe. It is a delicious and wholesome fruit. 



i WATER MELON. 



CAROLINA SPANISH. 



The water melon is cultivated in the same way as 
the musk melon, except that they are planted ten 
feet apart each way. Both musk and water melons 
flourish best on rich, sandy loam. The water melon 
is ripe when it has a breaking sound on being pressed 
by the hand ; it is a wholesome fruit. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 155 



To have melons a month earlier than by the above 
method, have boxes made two feet square, sixteen 
inches deep at back, and eight inches deep at front, 
with sloping sides, and a glazed sash to fit, with a 
lath on each side as high as the sash, to keep it from 
being blown off with high winds. Having all ready 
about the first of May, dig holes two feet wide and 
two feet deep; put eighteen inches of hot horse 
manure in them, and a foot of earth above it. Plant 
the seeds an inch deep in the middle, and place the 
box and sash on it. When the plants are an inch 
high, push down the sash a little every day to admit 
air. Be sure to draw it close up at night, and if 
there appears to be frost, cover the sash with mats 
or boards over niQ;ht. Water when needed. The 
sash can be taken off in warm days; after the plants 
have four leaves, both box and sash might be taken 
off altogether by the second week in June 



MUSTARD. 

WHITE — BROWN. 



Cultivate mustard in the same way, and use it in 
the same form as Cress or pepper grass. 



156 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



NASTURTIUM. 
Sow the seeds in drills two inches deep, along 
side of a fence. Scald the seed before planting, or 
pour boiling water over them after they are planted. 
The green seeds ere gathered, pickled, and used as 
capers. Sow in April. 



OKRA. 



Sow okra seeds in May, in drills two inches deep 
and thirty inches apart. The green seed pods are 
used in soups. 



ONION. 



Around New York city, and north of it, onion 
seeds are sowed thin in drills half inch deep and 
twelve inches apart as soon as the frost is out of the 
ground in spring, hoed between the rows, and kept 
free of weeds. They are full grown by September. 
If the season is wet, and they grow^ much to stalks, 
an empty flour barrel is rolled over them early in 
September, which bends down the stalks, and causes 
them to bulb better. By this mode, onions are pro- 
duced on sood ofround twelve inches in circumference 
in one year. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMEKICA. 157 



South of New York city, the onion takes two years 
to grow. The seeds are sowed thick in drills one 
inch deep and eight inches apart in April or May. 
They are ripened off in July, with bulbs the size of 
bush beans, which are kept in a loft or garret, until 
the following spring. As soon as the frost is out of 
the ground, they are planted in drills one inch deep 
and eight inches apart, and the sets 2 inches apart in 
the drills ; they are kept free of weeds and are full 
grown end of June. 



PARSLEY. 

CURLED PLAIN 

Sow early in spring, in drills one inch deep, and 
ten inches apart. Give a good watering with boil- 
ing water immediately after sowing. 



PARSNIP SUGAR. 

Sow early in spring, in drills one inch deep, and 

sixteen inches apart. When the plants are two 

inches high, thin them out to four inches apart, hoe 

frequently between the rows, and keep free of weeds. 

The roots are full grown in fall, and are most tender 

after getting a sharp frost. Let them remain in the 

ground all winter; and dig up a few every mild time, 

and put them in the cellar, to be ready for use. They 

are delicious when boiled along with salt meat. 

14 



158 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



PEPPER. 

LARGE BELL TOMATO SHAPED. 

Sow in drills one inch deep and six inches apart. 
"When the plants are four inches high, transplant into 
rich ground in rows two feet apart, and the plants 
sixteen inches apart in the rows. It is best to sow 
them in a hot bed in March, and plant thera out in 
May. If that cannot be done sow in April, and 
water with boiling water as soon as sowed, and 
transplant when large enough. 



RADISH. 

LONG SALMON YELLOW SUMMER SPANISH. 

Sow the long salmon, as soon as the ground is fit 
to dig in spring, in drills one inch deep and six 
inches apart. 

Yellow Summe^'. — Sow in April and at intervals 
through the summer, in drills one inch deep and 
twelve inches apart. 

Spanish. — Sow in August in drills, one inch deep 
and sixteen inches apart. When the plants are two 
inches high, thin them out to four inches apart ; hoe 
between the rows and keep free of weeds ; and on 
the approach of cold weather in fall, pull them up, 
cut off their leaves and put them in the cellar among 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 159 

dry earth. They are in use in late fall, and all win- 
ter. Plant out a few of the best in spring, to pro- 
duce seeds. 



PEA. 

LANDRETH's extra early WASHINGTON EARLY BLUE 

IMPERIAL. 

Sow as soon as the ground is free of frost in spring, 
in drills three inches deep, and thirty-three inches 
apart. Cover them with the earth drawn out of the 
drills, and tramp it well down. When the plants 
are six inches high, draw up a little earth to them, 
and stick in branches of trees three feet long on each 
side of every row, for them to climb on. If the 
above named are sowed at the same time, or a week 
after one another, they will come into use to succeed 
each other. They are dwarf growers, and prolific 
kinds, and well suited for cottage gardens. The 
tall growers take too much room for such places. 
Hoe frequently between the rows, and keep free of 
weeds. 



RHUBARB— PIE PLANT. 

GI A NT MAMMOTH VICTORIA. 

The plants are from two to five dollars per dozen. 
Plant in fall or spring, thirty inches apart each way. 
Dig in plenty of manure about them every year, and 



160 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

keep free of weeds. The foot stalk of the leaves are 
peeled and stewed, then made into pies, and are 
both delicious and wholesome. Break off' the flower 
stalk when it appears ; so that the whole growth of 
the plant may go into the leaves and foot stalks, 
which will make them larger. 



SALSAFY—OYSTER PLANT. 

Sow early in spring, in drills one inch deep, and 
twelve inches apart ; when the plants are two inches 
high, thin them out to three inches apart in the 
rows. They will be fit for use in late fall and all 
winter. They can either remain in the ground all 
winter, or be dug up before the ground freezes up. 
Have their leaves cut off*, and put in the cellar among 
dry earth. The roots are washed with a hard brush 
and boiled in water, or water and milk and salt ; 
then mashed up, and kneaded in flour into cakes 
and fried in butter. They both taste and smell like 
oysters, and are very wholesome. 



SCURVY GRASS. 

Sow in September, in drills one inch deep and 
fourteen inches apart. Cover with straw in winter, 
and use as a salad th'^oug^ 'l.p winter and early 
spring. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 161 



SORREL— GARDEN. 

Sow in April, in drills one inch deep and twelve 
inches apart, and use as a salad. 



SPINACH. 

PRICKLY SEEDED ROUND SEEDED, 

Sow the prickly seeded in September, in drills one 
inch deep and fifteen inches apart. Cover with 
straw in winter, and use in early spring. Sow the 
round seeded as soon as the ground is fit to dig. In 
spring it will come in use to succeed the prickly seeded. 



SQUASH. 

EARLY BUSH — COCOA NUT. 

Sow the early bush in April in rich ground, plant 
six feeet apart each way, and cultivate as directed 
for Musk Melons. 

Sow the cocoa nut in May, ten feet apart, and 

cultivate as water melons. The early bush will be 

in use in July and August. Peel, boil and mash up 

with butter. The cocoa nut is in use in late fall and 

all winter ; gather in before very cold weather, and 

14* 



162 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



place them in an airy part of the cellar. They are 
peeled, boiled, mashed up with eggs and spices, and 
made into pies. 



TOMATO— LOVE APPLE. 

Sow in a hot bed in March, and plant out into the 
open ground in May, four feet apart each way. Or 
the seeds can be sowed in April four feet apart each 
way. Put several seeds in at a place, and if all 
grow, cut ail off but one. Hoe well between them, 
and keep free of weeds. When ripe they are boiled, 
then peeled and mashed up with salt and pepper. 
They are very wholesome. The large Red is per- 
haps the best. There are the small red, large yellow, 
small yellow, and several other kinds. 

Tomato Catsup. — Is one of the finest and whole- 
somest sauces for meat. The fruit is gathered, cut 
once through, and boiled in a brass or copper kettle 
half an hour. The juice is then squeezed out of 
them, and strained through a hair sieve, or coarse 
cloth, and the spices are added ; and the whole is 
boiled three hours over a slow fire. Then they are 
poured into an open dish to cool— next day, the 
vinegar is added, then the catsup is bottled, and 
tight corked. The following are the spices. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 163 



For each peck of tomatoes — add of red pepper 
I" oz. black, J oz. mace, J oz. allspice, -| oz. cloves 
J oz. mustard 2 oz. salt to suit the taste — the spices 
are all in a powdered state, vinegar one pint. 



POTATOE. 

This most useful of vegetables has been the sub- 
ject of much discussion as to the best mode of its 
culture. We have tried many experiments and 
grown many varieties, and would recommend the 
following. 

Dig up the ground rough in fall, and sow it over 
with fresh lime at the rate of half a peck per rood. 
In spring spread it over with long manure, and dig 
it in. Cut the tubers into sets, with two eyes each. 
Plant the early kinds as soon as the ground is in a 
good working condition in spring, in drills three 
inches deep, and twenty-seven inches apart ; and 
plant the sets eight inches apart in the drills with 
their eyes uppermost. Cover them up with the earth 
taken out of the drills. Plant the late kinds in May, 
in drills four inches deep, and thirty-three inches 
apart. Plant the sets ten inches apart in the drills, 
and cover up. When they come up, give the ground 
a good hoeing around them, and when they are eight 
inches high, draw the earth well up to their sides, 



164 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



and keep them clear of weeds. The early kinds can 
be dug when needed for use, and the late kinds 
should be all dug up in September. By thi.s mode 
we have never been troubled with the rot, and the 
tubers keep well till July. We never grow them 
two years in succession on the same piece of ground, 
and get a fresh set of tubers from a distance every 
second year. We think that all kinds of potatoes 
degenerate when grown long on the same soil, and 
in the same neighbourhood. 



VARIETIES. 

There seems to be no end to varieties ; every dis- 
trict has its preference. In eastern Pennsylvania 
and West Jersey, Landreth's Extra Early is preferred 
as an early — the Mercer and Foxite as late kinds. 
In New York, East Jersey, and part of New England, 
Thorburn's Sovereign Early is preferred as first 
early — Ross, seedling, as a second early — the New 
York Pinkeye and Mercer as late kinds. Around 
Boston, Perkins seedling is highly spoken of as an 
early kind. — In 1839, we grew fifteen kinds in the 
garden of Dr. Peter Wendell at Albany, which we 
got from that matchless Agriculturist, (the late Judge 
Beul.) They were planted in May, and dug up in 
September. The produce was washed, weighed, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 165 

and measured, and the flour taken from two pounds 
weight of each kind. The whole was exhibited at 
the Albany Horticultural Society's Exhibition, for 
which we got the society's thanks and first prize. 
The following lists show which had the greatest 
yield, and which contained most flour. The greatest 
stands first, the least last. 

YIELD. QUANTITY OF FLOUR. 

Rohan late Thorburn's sovereign early 

Dutch Red *« Irish Cups 

English Whites " Foxite 

" Reds " New York Pinkeye 

Mercer " New England Blue 

Ross seedling, second Mercer 

early Ross, seedling 

New Y'ork Pinkeye late Forty Fold 
Thorburn's sovereign Late Stanford 

first early Orange Pinkeye 

Orange Pinkeye late English Whites 
New England Blues " Reds 

Forty Fold Dutch Reds 

Late Stanford Nonparelle ^ 

Irish Cups Rohan 

Nonparelle second early 
Foxite late 

It is seen that the ^ Rohan' had the greatest yield ; 
and the least flour. 



166 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA, 



TURNIP. 
RED TOP YELLOW ABERDEEN RUTA BAGA. 

Sow on rich ground, the Ruta Baga and Yellow 
Aberdeen first of July in Boston, and first of August 
at Baltimore ; in drills half inch deep, and thirty 
inches apart. When the plants are three inches high, 
thin them out to eight inches apart in the drills. The 
Red Top may be sowed three weeks later than the 
others, in drills half inch deep, and sixteen inches 
apart ; and thin them out to five inches apart in the 
rows. Hoe the ground well about thera, and keep 
free of weeds, and on the approach of severe cold 
weather pull them up, cut off their leaves, and put 
them among dry earth in the cellar. In spring plant 
a few of the best, to produce seeds. The different 
kinds should be planted apart from each other, as the 
flowers of the one are likely to get impregnated by 
those of the other and make impure seeds. 



> AROMATIC AND SWEET HERSS. 

CARAWAY SWEET BASIL SWEET IIARJASAM SUMMER 

SAVORY — ARE ANNUALS. 

Sow in April, in drills half inch deep, and fifteen 
inches apart; give a good watering with boiling 
water as soon as sowed. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 167 

Lavender, Sage, Mint, Thyme and Winter Marja- 
ram, are perennials, and last many years. Sow early 
in spring, in drills one inch deep and fifteen inches 
apart. Water with boiling water as soon as sowed. 
Hoe well between the rows and keep them clear of 
weeds. All herbs are best, if gathered just before 
they expand their blossoms. The Caraway is grown 
for its seed. W^hen gathered they should be dried 
in a garret, and not in the sun. 



BENE PLANT. 

The bene plant is a sure cure for the summer com- 
plaint. Put five full grown leaves in a pint of cold 
water ; bruise them and let remain half an hour, and 
the water will be as thick as a jelly. Drink half a 
pint at a time, and frequently, till a cure is efTected. 
It gives neither colour nor smell to the water, and is 
as easily drank as clear water. Sow the seeds in 
drills one inch deep, and fifteen inches apart first of 
May; and give a good watering with boiling water 
immediately after sowing. 



REMARKS. 
It should be understood that all seeds sowed in 
drills are to be covered with the earth taken out of 
the drills ; and that it is of great importance to tramp 



168 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 

the earth firm on the seeds, as it brings the earth and 
seeds in close contact, and causes the seeds to sprout 
more freely. All plants transplanted, should be done 
before or after rain, or on cloudy days or evenings, 
and watered well immediately after, unless it rains ; 
and many kinds will require several waterings if the 
weather continues very dry. The greatest economy 
should be practised in the cropping; so as not to 
have any part of the garden without a crop in the 
growing season. As soon as one crop is ripened off, 
the ground should be cleared, and another crop put 
on. Late cabbages may be planted between the 
rows of early peas, beans, corn, etc.; late beets, car- 
rots, etc. may succeed spinage, early cabbage, lettuce, 
etc. turnips, fall radishes, etc. may succeed early 
cucumbers, late cucumbers, beans, etc. may succeed 
early potatoes; fall spinage may succeed melons etc. 



HOEING AND KILLING WEEDS. 

Frequent hoeing pulverizes the ground, and 
makes it admit the sun, rain and air to the roots of 
the plants, which is of essential benefit to their growth. 
The killing of weeds while young is also of great 
importance to the cultivated plants, as the whole 
nourishment of the ground, rains, air, and sun, are 
given to them ; all of which are necessary to the 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OP AMERICA. 169 



health and growth of plants. The weeds should be 
raked off the ground as soon as hoed up ; as in wet 
or cloudy weather, they may strike root and grow 
again, and cause double labour. 



PURCHASING SEEDS. 

All seeds should be purchased if possible, from 
respectable seedsmen, whose w^iole business is in 
procuring the choicest kinds from all countries, 
and after trying their qualities and adaptation to 
our climate, to offer them for sale. And having 
served their lifetimes to the business, such men are 
competent judges. So we advise all country mer- 
chants who sell seeds, to purchase them from respec- 
table seedsmen, for the benefit of their customers. 
We have seen many vexations and disappointments 
caused by purchasing seeds in city markets and small 
country stores, raised by "Shakers" and other irre- 
sponsible growers. We give for the benefit of our 
cottagers a list of seedsmen, whom we know to be 
extensive dealers, strict in their nomenclatures and 
honest men. 

D. Landreth, Philadelphia Penn. 

Ft. Buist, " " 

H. Dreer, " " 

Protty & Co. " " 

15 



170 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

J. Thorburn, New York 

A. Smith, " '' 

Wm. Thorburn, Albany, New York. 

Hovy & Co. Boston, Mass. 

We have grown many hundred dollars worth of 
seeds, got from the above seedsmen ; and have not 
met with a single disappointment, and there are ex- 
perienced honest seedsmen in other places who may 
be depended on, although we are unacquainted with 
them. 



RAISING SEEDS. 
Every cottager can raise his own seeds ; but all 
kinds will degenerate if grown for many years on 
the same soil, and same neighbourhood, unless they 
get extra culture. So every one should get a new 
set of seeds from a distance every four or five years, 
either from friends or by purchase. There are 
always new and choice kinds of culinary vegetables, 
as w'ell as flowers, coming out every year ; and if 
any one contents himself with growing the same 
kinds, he will soon be left behind the age, and his 
garden will have the same appearance in ten years 
hence as it has now. Changes give pleasure to life. 
The reason why large dealers seeds are superior to 
others is, because they are constantly importing fresh 
stocks; so that their seeds are as suitable for the 
neighbourhood where they are raised, as at a distance. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 171 



SCALDING SEEDS. 

Many kinds of seeds have hard shells, and are apt 
to fail, unless scalded before sowing, or immediately 
after. 



AGE OF SEEDS. 

The age of seeds is of importance according to the 
purpose for which the plants are cultivated. When 
the whole plants are of use, such as celery, lettuce, 
radish, cabbage, turnips, etc., the younger the seeds 
the better ; as by it, the plants will grow larger, and 
be more tender. But if the plants are grown for 
their seeds or fruits, seeds three or four years old, 
are better than when only one year old ; as that 
causes the plants to grow less in size and more to 
fruit and seeds, and also makes seeds and fruit ripen 
earlier. Cucumber, egg plant, pepper, squash, 
melon, ocra, etc., are earlier and more prolific when 
the seeds are old. 



VARIETIES. 



We have not pretended to give a full list of culi- 
nary vegetables, but just such as we think most 
suitable with economy for small cottage gardens. 



172 TH^ COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

There are many other choice kinds, for which the 
reader is referred to the Catalogues of seedsmen in 
different parts of our country. 



BOOKS ON VEGETABLES. 

There are many books on vegetables, which 
dwell more at length on their culture than we can be 
expected to do in a small volume, noticing so many 
articles. 

Bridgeman's "Gardiner's Assistant," is one of the 
best books on the subject. 

Buist's " Family Kitchen Garden." — Mr. Downing 
in his " Horticultarist" says, " this is the best book 
on the culture of culinary vegetables. It is to the 
point, no superfluous words." 

[We have not read the book, but know that Mr. 
Buist is a man of great energy and intellect ; he 
takes hold of his work with both hands, it matters 
not, whether his tool be the pen or spade.] 

Mr. Fessenden of Boston, has also written an ex- 
cellent book on vegetables. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 173 



«fc 



TREE DEPARTMENT. 

My cottage home ! my cottage home ! 
Here, in thy cherished loved embrace, 
I'll spend my lotted hours to come, 
Nor seek to find a lovelier place. 

Notwithstanding all our attempts to embellish 
and beautify our cottages and gardens with flowers, 
vines and shrubs, which are truly pleasing and lovely 
in themselves — they have an unprotected and dimin- 
utive appearance without some sturdy sons of the 
forest to watch over them. But what a fine finish 
do a couple of noble shade trees on the side-walk, 
and a handsome evergreen in the centre of the plot, 
each side of the approach from that to the cottage, 
give to the whole place. And when we are abroad, 
ihe first thing we see of our homes in the distance 
^n our return, are these gigantic sentinels by the 
gate, watching over the place in our absence, and 
looking out for our coming. And we know that they 
are ours, by their size, their form, and their color. 
They seem to meet us half way, and stretch out their 
extended arms to shake hands with us on our ap- 
proach, and wave their leaves, to fan the sweat from 
our brows. And how refreshing we feel when they 

throw their shady mantle over us; and on leaving 

\5* 



174 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

them to enter our cottage, we meet our constant 
friends, the evergreens, smiling in their beauty to 
welcome us home. And these very trees seem to 
know the purpose for which they are there. The 
evergreens, being nearer to the cottage, keep them- 
selves tidy dressed through the winter, and smile in 
at our windows when all other beauties are gone. 
They are like dear, comforting friends, keeping us 
in remembrance of the happy past, and in anticipa- 
tion of the pleasant future. And the deciduous 
trees, knowing that it is for their shade they are 
there, drop their foliage on the approach of cold 
weather, in obedience to our wishes ; as their ser- 
vices are no longer needed, and each remains through 
the winter, a " leafless plant, a desolate waste." 
But on the return of warm weather in spring, when 
they are preparing for service, how beautiful their 
swelling buds ! O how fresh their newly expanded 

foliage. 

"All nature dies and lives again ; 
Anew shall flowers deck the plain ; 
The woods shall hear the voice of spring; 
And flourish green again." 

There is no species of benevolence so universally 
bestowed, and more gratefully felt, than the planting 
of shade trees The wayfaring pedestrian is refreshed 
by the shade of trees in front of the lonely cottage 
by the wayside. The village is beautiful and its 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 175 

inhabitants comforted with shade trees, and they 
afford a delightful promenade when growing along 
the sides of streets of large towns and cities. Every- 
body should plant shade trees; he who is able to 
build a house, and will not give two dollars to de- 
corate it with a couple of shade trees, for his own 
comfort, and the benefit of his fellow man, shows 
himself a miserable object of pity, and utterly un- 
worthy of the blessings which the God of Heaven is 
daily bestowing on him 



SHADE TREES. 

Msculus, Hippocastanum, or Horsechesnut — is of 
slow growth, forms a handsome tree, bearing large, 
fragrant, white flowers in May and June. 

^scuhoSy Rubicunda, or red-Jlowering Horsechesnut. 

Acer Dasycarpunif or Silver Maple — is of rapid 
growth, weeping habit, and forms a handsome head. 

Acer Saccharinum, or Sugar Maple — makes a noble 
shade tree. 

Acer Rubrum, or Red Maple — a beautiful tree. 

Acer Pseudo Platanus, or European Sycamore— 
makes a most splendid shade tree. 

Ailanthus Glandulosus, or Tree of Heaven — is of 
rapid growth ; thrives on every soil. 

Filia, or Linden Tree — both the European and 
American species make handsome trees. . 



176 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 



Paulownia Imperiales — a choice shade tree, of late 
introduction from China, is of very rapid growth ; 
thrives on all soils. 

Ulmus Campesirisj or English Elm tree — makes a 
most splendid shade tree. 

Ulmus Americana^ American Elm — also makes a 
handsome tree 

Salix Babylomca, or Weeping Willow — one of the 
very handsomest trees; thrives on every soil, and 
of rapid growth. 

Fraxinus Americana, or American Ash tree — makes 
a good shade tree. 

Fraxinus Excehiory or English Ash tree — makes a 
handsome shade. 



EVERGREEN TREES. 

PiNus Balsamed — Balm of Gilead tree. 

PInus Abies, or Norway Feir. 

Pinus Canadensis, or Hemlock Spruce. 

Pinus Nigra, or Black Spruce. 

Pinus Storbus, or White Pine. 

Pinus Picea, or Silver Pine. 

Pinus Rubra, or Red Pine. 

Thuja Occidentalis — American Arborvitea, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 177 



TRANSPLANTING SHADE TREES. 
Shade trees are generally larger when transplanted 
than fruit trees are, and succeed better when done in 
fall than in spring. Set the tree where and how it 
is to stand when planted ; make a rit with the spade 
nine inches out from the extremity of its roots all 
round ; dig the hole that size and shape, and nine 
inches deeper than the tree is to be planted ; put the 
good top soil around the hole, and cast the poor 
under soil a little ways off; put nine inches of the 
good soil in the bottom of the hole ; break it fine ; 
then set the tree in it. Fill up with good soil, after 
the roots of the tree are covered. Tramp the earth 
firm on them ; then fill up the hole with good soil, 
mixing short manure along wuth it, and when full 
tramp down again. Form a basin around the tree, 
with the poor earth taken out of the bottom of the 
hole. The basin should be as wide as the spreading 
roots, and fill it half up with manure ; if the planting 
is performed in spring, fill the basin at once with 
water, and frequently through the summer, if the 
weather is very dry. If done in fall, no water will 
be needed, unless the trees appear to suffer with the 
following summer's drought. 



178 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



TRANSPLANTING EVERGREEN TREES. 
Evergreen trees may be transplanted the same 
way as shade trees. From August till June, except 
in the time of hard fjost, fill their basins frequently 
with water the first summer after planting. All trees 
should be dug up with as much of their roots as pos- 
sible. 



HEDGES OR LIVE FENCES. 

The cheapest, most beautiful, and durable fences 
are hedges, and all dividing fences of cottage gar- 
dens, should be made of hedges ; there are several 
kinds of plants well adapted for the purpose. 

Madura Aiirantiaca^ or Osage Orange — is of rapid 
growth, with large, shining Orange-like leaves, and 
long sharp thorns ; thrives on all soils, hardy at the 
north, and being a native of Arkansas, it succeeds 
well at the south. 

Ligustrum Vulgare, or Privet or Prim — is of rapid 
growth, with slender shoots and small leaves ; forms 
a neat hedge, thrives on all soils, hardy at Maine, 
and flourishing in Virginia. 

Crateagus, or Hawthorn. — There is an American 
and an English species, of rapid growth, with slender 
shoots and small leaves, and short sharp thorns ; 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 179 



succeed well on heavy soils ; hardy at Maine, and 
flourishing in Virginia, the finest hawtorn hedges 
that we have seen in America, were at Downing's 
*' Highland Nurseries" at Newburg, Orange Co. 
New York. The English thorn enclosed one lot, 
the American another. The English looked most 
tempting in spring, its leaves smaller and wood more 
slender than the American ; but by the end of August, 
it was almost devested of foliage by the heat, while 
the American was as green, and flourishing as it was 
in spring. 

Any of the above plants, will make thick fences 
six feet high in three years, and are cheaper than 
common post and rail fences, and will last for gene- 
rations. 



PLANTING HEDGES. 

Dig out a trench twelve inches deep, and fifteen 
inches wide ; let one person set the plants in the 
middle of the trenches six inches apart, and another 
break the earth fine, and put it gently in around 
them, while the planter holds them straight up ; 
tramp the earth well down around them. The 
trenches should not be entirely filled, but rather left 
concave, so that all the rains which fall may settle 
about their roots ; and if waiter is needed the first 
summer, it should be given. 



180 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



KEEPING HEDGES IN GOOD ORDER. 
Hoe frequently, and destroy all weeds about their 
roots, and clip them once or twice a year, that is, 
shorten the top and side shoots, so as to make them 
grow thick and bushy. They may be trained any 
height, shape and thickness. It is however better 
to have them ridged on top than flat, as the snows 
in winter will not lodge so much on them and put 
them out of shape. 



EVERGREEN HEDGES. 

Evergreen hedges are the most beautiful of all 
fences. The finest we have seen in America are of 
Chinese Arborvitea, and growing in the nursery of 
Mr. T. Landreth, Philadelphia 

Junipents Virginiana, or Red Cedar — makes a neat 
evergreen hedge, thriving equally well on the sands 
of Jersey, and heavy loam of Pennsylvania. 

Thvja OrientaliSj or Chinese Arhorvitca — is a most 
choice plant for evergreen hedges ; thrives best on 
loamy soils. 

These hedges are too expensive for working peo- 
ple, and their slow growth would wear their patience 
out. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 181 



ORNAMENTAL TREES. 

Amygdalis Persica^ or Double-flowerivg Peach — 
resembles the peach tree in everything but the 
flowers, which are large and double. 

Cercis Canadensis, or Judas tree — grows as large 
as a peach tree, with pink, pea-like flowers, in April 
and May. 

Cercis Siliquasirum — bears purple pea-like flowers, 
in April and May ; a splendid tree. * 

Crataegus, or Hawthorn — fragrant and beautiful. 

Alba Pleno, or double white. 

Rubra Pleno, or double scarlet. 

Splendeus, or splendid. 

Cytisus Laburnum, or Golden Chain tree — has large 
racems of yellow flowers in May. 

Hibiscus Syriacus, or Althea, or Rose of Sharon. 

Alba Pleno, or double white large rose-like flowers. 

Picta, " " '^ striped " " " " 

Rubra, '' " «' red " '' '' " 

The Hibiscus are all beautiful, with large double 
rose-like flowers, from July till September. 

Rohinia Vi.scosa, Rose Acacia tree — with large 
racems of white flowers, in April and May. 

The above may be grov/n as shrubs ; they seldom 

exceed twenty feet in height when full growm. 

The following grow very large trees. 

16 



182 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 



Cerasus Areium Multiplex^ or douhle-flowerwg 
cherry — has large, snowy white daisy-like flowers, 
from bottom to top, in April and May ; splendid tree. 

Magnolia Conspicua—\ms large tulip-like white 
flowers, in April and May; a native of China. 

Magnolia Macrophylla— has large white tulip-like 
flowers, in May and June ; a native of America. 

Magnolia and double-flowering cherry trees — are 
highly ornamental, and would have a beautiful ap- 
pearance, if planted in long lines as shade trees, in 
the public streets of large cities. 



INSECTS. 

Caterpillars are often found on shade and orna- 
mental trees, and may be destroyed in the same way 
as directed for fruit trees. 

Bag Grub. — This is a large dark-colored grub, 
which weaves for itself a silken bag in which it lives, 
and can open and shut it at pleasure, just as any 
body would open and shut a purse which, is drawn 
together in the mouth with a string. As soon as 
these bags appear on trees or bushes, if within reach 
of the hand, they should be picked off", and put in a 
pail of hot water ; if out of reach, they can be cut ofl' 
with the young shoot to which they are attached, 
and burned, or scalded. 

They devour the leaves with great greediness, and 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 183 



in a short time, a few of them will strip a large tree 
of its foliage. 

Pine Blight — is an insect, which (deposits an egg, 
near to the top of the main shoots of pine trees ; a 
grub is hatched, which lives on the inner bark and 
soft wood, and eats downwards, whenever the shoot 
appears to fade ; cut it off twelve inches below the 
faded part, split it up, and there is the rogue ; kill 
him. 



PRUNING. 

Shade and ornamental trees, should get a proper 
pruning every year ; thin out and shorten the over- 
grown branches; study to balance the head of the 
tree, and if it leans to one side, cut off some of the 
branches on the side it leans to, and train it in a 
symmetrical style. 



184 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



NURSERY DEPARTMENT, 

OR PROPAGATION. 

There are several systems by which plants are 
propagated, according to their natures. Species can 
be propagated by seeds, but varieties cannot. So 
Horticulturalists had to find out the other systems, 
whereby varieties and hybrids can be perpetuated as 
well as species ; and now, some species are propa- 
gated with more facility by these systems than by 
seeds. 



BUDDING, OR INOCULATING. 

In the taking a bud from the young shoot of one 
plant, and inserting it in between the bark and wood 
of the stem or branch of another plant, so as to make 
them unite and grow. The piece to be inserted is 
called Bud, the plant on which it is to be inserted, 
is called Stock. Have a sharp knife with a thin 
blade, and ivory heft, tapering to a thin edge at one 
end ; get a shoot of the present year's growth with 
prominent buds, from the plant that is to be increased, 
and procure soft strings for tieing, (bass mat strings 
are best,) now fix on a smooth part of the stocky and 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 185 

make a horizontal cut on the north side of it, half an 
inch in length, through the bark, into the solid wood, 
but no further; and make a perpendicular cut two 
inches long, from the middle of the horizontal cut 
downwards. Now fix on a prominent bud on the 
young shoot, enter the knife half an inch above it ; 
cut slantingly downwards and half through the wood, 
and bring it out an inch below the bud. Now sepa- 
rate the wood from the bark gently, so as not to in- 
jure the inner bark, or to pull out the eye of the 
bud. If there is a hole behind the bud, the eye is 
out, and the bud useless, if there is no hole, — the 
the bud is entire. Now take hold of the stock with 
the left hand near to the cuts, and with the right 
hand, raise the bark up from the wood, each side of 
the perpe.idicular cut, with the thin end of the knife 
haft. Then siip in the prepared bud between the 
wood and bark, slide it down to the bottom of the 
cut, and lay the stock bark smoothly over it ; let the 
eye project out. Now tie it up with a string. Be- 
gin half an inch below the bottom of the cut, and 
wind it tight and close around the stock upwards, to 
half an inch above the horizontal cut, and tie it. 
Observe not to cover the eye of the bud with the 
string. Look at it two weeks after it is inserted : if 
it is green and plump, it is doing well ; if brown and 
shriveled, it is dead. If the string appears to gird 

the stock, and the bud is alive, take it off and tie it 

16* 



186 THE COTTAGE GARDExV OF AMERICA. 



on slacker, and in two weeks more remove it alto- 
gether. Some do not separate the wood and hark 
of the bud, but smooth it off and insert it entire. 
This plan is more simple, and equally as successful ; 
more so with some plants, especially if done early. 
If the head of the stock is cut off after the bud is 
fairly taken, the bud will make a large growth the 
present season, but is apt to be killed by the winter. 
So the safest plan is to leave it till next spring; then 
cut off the head of the stock six inches above the in- 
serted bud, rub off all the stock buds as they swell, 
except one above the inserted one, and when it has 
made a shoot six inches long, rub off the other ; so 
that the inserted bud may get all the nourishment in 
the stock. Several buds may be put on one plant. 
We have had twenty-six everblooming roses grow- 
ing on a sweet briar bush, all stone fruit trees do 
best by budding, and pears on quince stocks. The 
season for budding is, from the middle of July, till 
the end of August. 



CUTTINGS. 
By this species of propagation, cuttings taken from 
the young shoots of plants, with three or four buds 
each. They are planted with two buds in the ground, 
and one or two buds above ground. The cuttings 
of hardy plants may be procured early in spring and 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 18*7 

planted in mellow ground, in a shaded part of the 
garden. They may be planted in rows from six to 
fourteen inches apart, and the cuttings from three to 
six inches apart in the rows according to their 
growths. If the ground is not naturally sandy, some 
sharp sand should be put about the bottom of the 
cuttings, and they will grow more freely. Give 
them several good waterings in summer, and by fall 
they will have made good growths, and be well 
rooted ; and in the following spring they may be 
transplanted to where they are wanted. The cut* 
tings of pot plants should be planted in half sharp 
sand, and half loam. A number of cuttings may be 
planted into one pot, and when well rooted, they 
can be planted singly into small pots. All cuttings 
and young plants should be shaded for some time 
after they are planted. 



GRAFTING. 
Is the taking a young shoot from one plant and 
inserting it in the stem or branch of another plant, 
causing them to unite in growth. The shoot to be 
inserted is called Graft or Scion. It should have 
five or six buds. The plant on which the graft is to 
be inserted, is called stock. The time to graft fruit 
trees and other hardy plants, is in spring, when they 
are beginning to swell their buds. Have a sharp 



188 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

knife; procure shoots of last year's growth, with five 
or six buds each, for grafts, and soft strings for tie- 
ing. Then prepare grafting clay or wax. The clay 
is prepared by mixing three parts clay, and one part 
horse droppings, to the consistence of good putty. 
Grafting wax is made of four parts bees-wax, four 
parts common pitch, two of lard and one of burgundy 
pitch, boiled an hour together. The strings are to 
bind the graft and stock tight together, the clay or 
■wax is to cover the union of the graft and stock so 
as to exclude the air and moisture. 



WHIP GRAFTING. 

Is generally practised in nurseries on young stocks. 
The nearer one thickness the graft and stock are the 
better. Head off the stock six inches above the 
ground, and make a sloping cut two inches long on 
one side of the upper end. Then make a slit in the 
middle of the cut downwards, one inch in length. 
Now make a sloping cut on the lower end of the 
graft, to correspond exactly with that made on the 
stock, and. make a slit in the middle of it upwards 
an inch long. Now fix the graft on the stock, slip 
the tongue of the graft in the slit of the stock, then 
bind tight together with a string, beginning below 
the union, and finish above. Cover the whole with 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 189 



clay or wax. The clay should be half an inch thick 
all round, tapering off to nothing at both ends, and 
reaching an inch below, and an inch above the 
union. The wax may be put on an eighth of an 
inch thick. Look at it occasionally to see that the 
clay or wax do not fall off; if so, replace it. When 
the graft has made a shoot ten inches long, remove 
the clay or wax, and string, so that it may swell with 
the growth. It should be observed that both clay 
and wax are not used on the same graft, either of 
them is enough. 



CLIFT GRAFTING, 

Is practised on the stocks from one to three inches 
in diameter. Saw off the head of the stock level, 
and smooth the cut with the knife. Split the stock 
down the middle, two inches in length, with a strong 
knife, and put a large nail in the middle of the split, 
to keep it open. Sharpen the lower ends of the 
grafts on both sides to the shape of a thin wedge, 
two inches in length ; insert one on each side of the 
clift in the stock, with the outer edge flush with the 
bark of the stock. Hold them in their places with 
one hand, and draw out the nail with the other, to 
let the clift close on the grafts ; bind tight with 
strings and cover with clay, at least an inch 



190 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



thick all round. When the grafts have grown 
twelve or eighteen inches long, remove clay and 
bandage. 



ROOT GRAFTING, 

Is practised by nurserymen with choice roses. 
The stocks are pieces of common rose roots two or 
three inches long ; the grafts are pieces of young 
shoots of choice roses. A slit is made in the stock 
an inch long, and the lower end of the graft is shaped 
like a wedge, and fitted in the slit of the stock. 
They are then slightly tied together, planted in small 
pots, and placed in a hot-bed, where they soon grow. 
They are re-potted into larger pots as they progress 
in growth, and make large plants in one season. 
The grafts are generally two inches long, and planted 
so as to have one bud above ground. This species 
of grafting is performed in midwinter. 



IJVARCHING, 

Is sometimes called, " Grafting by Approach," 
and practised on plants which are not easily propa- 
gated by Budding or Grafting, and cannot be per- 
petuated by seeds. The stock is a young plant, with 
a stem as thick as a goose quill ; the graft is a young 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OP AMERICA. 191 



branch of a large plant, nearly of the same thickness 
as the stem of the stock; the stock is set on a bench 
as high as the branch to be grafted on it. A cut, two 
inches long, is made on one side of both stock and 
graft in an arch form, and half through the shoots at 
the middle of the cut, the graft and stock are placed 
together, the two cuts are bent into each other, so 
as to fit exactly, heart to heart, and bark to bark, 
and tied tight together with a soft string. In three 
months after the operation, they will be united, when 
the graft can be cut from its parent close to the stock, 
and the stock headed off, close to the graft. The 
plant is then placed in the shade for a few weeks, 
and makes a good growth the same year. The ope- 
ration should be performed early in June. It will 
be seen that the graft is attached to its parent, and 
receiving nourishment from it, while it is uniting 
with the stock ; and the head of the stock is left on 
to draw up the sap, and assists the uniting. 



LAYERING, 

Is practised on carnations, roses, shrubs, and 
many kinds of greenhouse plants, grape-vines, etc. 
Select a young shoot of the present year's growth, 
bend it down, and make a sloping hole in the ground 
where the shoot comes in contact with it, from two 



192 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



to six inches deep, according to the kind of plant. 
Now cut off the leaves on the part of the shoot that 
is to be in the hole, enter the knife immediately be- 
hind a bud which will be in the bottom of the hole, 
half through the shoot, and split it upwards two 
inches. Put some sand or earth in the split to keep 
it open. Lay the shoot in the hole, push in a peg 
or stick with a hook into the ground over the shoot, 
behind the tongue or split, to keep it in its place. 
Then break the earth fine, and fill up the hole. If 
the soil is not naturally sandy, mix sharp sand with 
it, above, below and around the split or tongue. 
This will make it root more readily. The operation 
may be performed from June till September. Car- 
nations, grape-vines, roses, etc. will be well rooted 
by fall. Shrubs, etc., will take fifteen months to be 
well rooted. It will be seen that the layer is at- 
tached to its parent, and receiving nourishment from 
it, while it is making roots in the earth. When well 
rooted, it can be dug up and planted where it is 
wanted 



SEEDS. 



All plants have first originated from seeds. Dif- 
ferent kinds of seeds may be sowed at different 
times, according to their natures ; the larger the 
seeds are, the deeper should they be sowed, and the 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 193 



smaller, the more shallow. Small seeds with hard 
shells, should be scalded before they are sowed, or 
well watered with boiling water immediately after. 
Seeds of stone fruit trees, nuts, etc., should have 
their shells broken, and taken off before sowino". 
Seeds of trees, shrubs, etc. should be sowed in fall, 
unless there be many land mice in the ground. All 
kinds of seeds should have the earth well tramped 
over them, and the soil kept moist until they sprout; 
and they will vegetate more freely. 



SUCKERS. 

Many plants propagate themselves by throwing 
up suckers from their root?, which make as good 
plants as those propagated bv artificial means. Fruit 
trees are an exception to thi^: they should never be 
propagated by suckers. 



DIVISIONS. 
Many herbaceous plants are propagated by divi- 
sions of the plant or roots. The daisy, polyanthus, 
primrose, cowslip, etc. are propagated by divisions 
of the plant. The plants are divided, and every 
piece that has a heart to it will grow and soon make 

a large plant. The roots of Perennial larkspurs, 

17 



194 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

Moonkshoods, Peonas, Pie plant, Phlox, etc., increase 
very fast. These roots are divided, and each piece 
with a bud will make a plant. 



LEAVES. 



Some plants are propagated by leaves, the "wax 
plant'' for example. Take a leaf with the foot stalk 
attached : plant it with the foot stalk and part of the 
leaf in the soil, and in a short time it will grow, and 
make a plant. 

All young plants should have the soil kept uni- 
formly moist, and frequently stirred about them, and 
kept free of weeds ; and many hardy kinds will be 
benefited, by being slightly covered with manure or 
litter, the first winter. 



[NSECTS., 



When greatly harrassed with enemies, we are apt 
to think that all are enemies, and often vent our 
wrath on our real friends through mistake. So it is 
the case wuth insects ; birds, which are the great de- 
stroyers of insects, are either shot, or frightened away 
from our places ; and yet it is said that one small 
bird consumes over a hundred destructive insects in 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 195 



a dny. We see that the trees in a forest are un- 
touclied by insects, because birds shelter there 
unmolested ; while those plants cultivated by us 
with great care, are constantly preyed on hy insects. 
We advise every cottager to encourage birds to 
shelter in his gardens, and never let a gun be fired 
on their places. Take advice from the Poet, 

"Uon't kill the birds, the little birds, 
That sing- about your door." 

Insects which winter in the earth may be de- 
stroyed by sowing fresh lime, ashes, soot, charcoal, 
dust, salt, etc., over the ground in late fall or early 
spring. The quantity to the rood, might be a half- 
peck of lime, or peck of ashes, or half peck of char- 
coal dust, or quart of soot. The same ingredient 
should not be sowed every fall on the same piece 
of ground. 

Insects which nrake their nests of eggs on the clifts 
of trees, etc., may be destroyed in winter by scra- 
ping the nests ofl'and burning them. 

Insects in manure heaps may be destroyed by 
mixing lime or ashes with the manure, or by spread- 
ing it over the ground in fall. 

Insects which winter in the earth, and crawl up 
the stems of trees in spring, may be prevented by 
laying lime-ashes or tanners bark around the stems. 

Caterpillars and Flies — which sting the fruit, may 
be kept off, by sowing fresh slacked lime over the 



195 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 

heads of the trees wliile ihey are \vet with dew; or 
by ranking fi;es under the trees in calm evenings, 
of any thinf that will make an offensive smell ; to- 
bacco shanks will do, but they should be uet, so as 
not to blaze, which would hurt the trees. A stink- 
inp' smoke is the thinq; needed.. 

Wasps and Hornets — which destroy fine fruits, may 
be prevented by hanging bottles of sour cider vine- 
gar — sugar and water — molasses and water, en the 
trees. 

Rabbits and Mice — may be jirevented from eating 
the bark of the stems of young trees in winter, by 
tieing them up with cattle Manure, or tobacco shanks 
around them. 

Files y BiigSy and Slugs — may be destroyed by 
sowing fresh slacked lime over the plants affected, 
in the morning"^, while the dew^ is on them ; or 
syringe them in the evenings with the whale oil soap 
solution. 



WHALE OIL SOAP SOLUTION, 

Is made, by mixing one pound of soap with eight 
gallons of water, twenty-four hours before using. 
The soap can be had from our seeds and nursery- 
men in large cities. They send it all over the 
country. It is certain to drive oflC all insects, and 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 197 

was first discovered by Mr. David Ilaggerston, a 
practical gardiner near Boston ; for which he got 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's prize of 
one hundred dollars. 



TREE SALVE, 

Is made of cattle manure and earth, in equal parts, 
well mixed together with water. For large wounds 
on trees; it may be mixed like good mortar, and 
tied on with a cloth; for small wounds, it may be as 
thick as cream, and rubbed over the wounds. 

Scaly Insects — are destroyed by washing the plants 
affected with warm water and soap, and a hard 
brush. The Oleander is very much affected with 
this insect, if kept in a cellar or other dark places in 
winter. Take leaf by leaf, and wash the whole 
plant ; the warm water irritates the insect, and 
causes it to move, w^hen it is easily shelled off". It 
will take several washings to cleanse a plant that is 
much affected. 

Grape-vine Insect — is a small white insect, hatched 
in soft white wool on the clifts of the vines ; it lives 
on the underside of the leaves, and when full grown, 
is like a white butterffy in minature, with wings, and 
is not a sixteenth part of an inch long, and half as 
broad. It eats the leaves as thin as a cobweb. Sy- 



198 THE COTTAGE GARDEX OF AMERICA, 

^■ 3 

ringe the plants afl'ected, with the whale oil soap 
solution, and scrape od'lhc nests and burn them. 

Chmatis Insect — is like a black clock, \*i.vy nim- 
ble, and a greedy feeder ; eats the leaves of the 
sweet scented clematis. It is always in great num- 
bers, and will strip a large plant of its leaves in a 
few days. Syringe the ph^nts affected with the whale 
oil soap solution in the evenings ; and the next morri' 
ing, the insects will all be found on the ground sick. 
Gather them into a pail of hot water. It is said that 
they destroy fields of })otatoe tops in Maryland. 

Red Spider — is very troublesome in forcing houses, 
and on plants in hot houses and greenhouses. Burn- 
ing brimstone on the flews, keeps them down ; the 
best plan is to search them out on the plants and 
kill them ; and give the plants frequent syringings 
with pure water. 

Mealy Bug — is troublesome in hot houses. Search 
ihem out on the plants and kill them, and give fre- 
quent syringings. 

Green Fly — When there are many pot plants kept 
in a green house, the green fly may be killed by 
burning tobacco in a small furnace in the green 
bouse, in calm evenings, until it is very full of the 
smoke. The tobacco should be wetted a little to 
keep it from blazing; the plants should be well 
syringed with pure v,-a!er next morning. 

When there are but few pot plants, the insects 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 109 

may be brushed off the plants into a pail of hot 
water, or they may be taken down to the cellar, set 
close together, and a tight box or barrel placed over 
them; makinof an auger hole on one side where it 
rests on the ground, and placing a saucer with to- 
bacco in it, at the hole. Burn the tobacco, and 
blow it in at the hole, if it does not burn free. When 
the box is full of smoke, stop up the hole and let it 
remain two hours. Then take off the box, and give 
the plants a good syringing with pure water. 

Insects should be destroyed at all stages, never 
pass one without killing it. 



DISEASES. 

Mildew — is a must or mould, the production of foul 
air, caused by decomposition, and found on plants 
of a strong odour when grown on a soil, and in an 
atmosphere, unsuitable to their natures. The grape- 
vine, peach tree, tea rose, cabbage, turnip, etc., are 
nlants .if strong* odours, and are affected with the 
mildew. When the grape-vine, peach tree, and tea 
rose, are grown on light mellow soils, and high airy 
situations, they are never troubled with mildew, but 
when grown in forcing houses, where a high tem- 
perature i.s kept up, often syringed, and but liltle 
atmospheric air admitted, the leaves not being fur- 



200 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



nished with oxygenic matter enough to purify the 
sap as it rises from the rools, it is sent on its down- 
ward course in its undigested state; which destroys 
the health of the plant : so vegetation ceases, and 
decomposition takes place. The strong effluvia 
which the plant now emits, putrifies the air around 
it, and falls back on it in the form of mildew. The 
plants are now dusted over with sulphur, w^hich 
contains a very great porticn of oxygenic matter. 
This purifies the air again, vegetation begins, and 
the plants look healthier ; but if the sulphur is not 
soon applied again, the plant falls back to its old 
state. Lime contains a large portion of oxygenic 
matter, and if slacked in the forcing house, and the. 
walls white w^ashed with it, the air will be greatly 
purified by it, as much of the oxygenic matter escapes 
from the lime, and mixes with the nitrogen in the 
air. If the plants are frequently syringed with sul- 
phur and lime dissolved in water, the air will in a mea- 
sure be kept sweet, and continue vegetation, which 
of course will prevent decomposition. When cab- 
bages and turnips are grown on moist soils, and 
moist atmospheres they are never troubled with rail- 
dew^ ; but when grown on dry soils and dry atmos- 
pheres, they become mildewed, because they are 
unsuitable to their natures ; both roots and leaves 
being deprived of moisture, vegetation is stopped, 
and decomposition ensues. The plants now emit a 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 201 



very strong effluvia which putrifies the air around 
them, and which falls back on them in the form of 
mildew, and if a full supply of water is not soon fur- 
nished to the plants, to cause a reaction, the whole 
plants will in a short time be covered with the mil- 
dew. But if water is furnished at the proper time, 
vegetation will commence and the mildew disap- 
pear. It is not the mildew that hurts the plants, but 
the decomposiiion which putrifies the air and makes 
the mildew. If a pound of Hour of sulphur, and a 
pound of lump lime be dissolved in thirty-two gal- 
lons of water, it will tend greatly to purify the air, 
if frequently syringed over the plants growing in for- 
cing houses; which will continue vegetation, and 
of course there will be no mildew. And if cabbages, 
turnips, etc., are well supplied with water, vegeta- 
tion will continue, and there will be no mildew. 

rhe above is different from any article we ever 
i-ead on the subject: yet we could use many illustra- 
tions to prove its correctness. Let us go to Agricul- 
ture, and there we will find wheat w^hich delights in 
a dry atmosphere, and is very odourous when in its 
milky or sugary state ; if the w^eather at that time be 
close, hot, moist and cloudy, vegetation is checked, 
decomposition takes place, and mildew is produced. 
But if the weather be dry and sunny, there will be 
no mildew. Again, if straw is spread out loosely 
while wetj there appears no change in it when it 



202 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

becomes dry; but if it is put into a stack while wet, 
and tramped down, it will soon begin to decompose, 
and then if it is forked over, we find that the heart 
of the stock is entirely covered with mildew. And 
again, we find abundance of mildew among the de- 
composing vegetable matter in dung heaps; and if 
buried in the earth before it is entirely decomposed, it 
will produce a host of funguses which will be rank 
poison. 



MOSS, 

Is a parasite plant of an hermaphrodite nature, pro- 
pagating itself all over within the reach of its multi- 
plying influence ; and when found growing on trees 
or other woody plants, it is a sure indication that 
such plants are in an unhealthy state. When grow- 
ing on trees, scrape it ofT with a cattle's rib, or strong 
iron hoop, and dig aw^ay the earth from the tree as 
far as its roots extend ; and then fill up the place 
with short manure and soil of an opposite nature to 
that dug out. If it stands on a high and dry place, 
give it frequent waterings through the summer. If 
the place where it stands is low and wet, a drain 
should be dug around the tree, and another to carry 
off the water. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 203 



GUM. 

When stone fruit trees have gum oozing out of 
them, the gum should be scraped off; cut off any 
loose bark around the place, and if a part of the 
wood is dead, it should be cut out into the live parts, 
and the wound covered over with the tree salve, 
which see 



WOUNDS. 
When trees and other woody plants, get hurts or 
wounds, pare off all the loose bark around the 
wounds, and cover them over with the tree salve. 



CANKER. 

When trees are cankered, cut the part out into 
the fresh live wood, and cover the wound with the 
tree salve. 

When a branch is killed by lightning, cut it off at 
once. 

When a branch gets broken by high winds, saw 
it off below where it broke, and smooth the wound 
with the knife, and cover it over with the tree salve ; 
if the bark is stripped off below where it broke, cover 
that with the tree salve. 



204 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



When a fruit tree grows very luxuriant, and does 
not bear fruits, dig the earth away fiom around it, 
cut part of its roots, and fdl up the place with small 
stones, gravel, or sand. This is called " Root 
pruning." 



CALENDAR FOR JANUARY. 

Clear the garden of all dead crops and their sup- 
ports, cover with straw all culinary vegetables left 
in the open ground ; cover bulbous roots with man- 
ure ; collect all the manure possible, and spread it 
over the vacant ground ; prepare bean poles, pea 
brush, labeling sticks, tieing up sticks; prepare a 
heap of compost for pot plants ; mix some of the 
manure taken out of the hot bed in it ; clear out the 
hot bed to its bottom ; prune fruit and shade trees, 
shrubs, hardy roses, etc. ; tie up half hardy roses and 
other plants with a covering of straw; clip hedges, 
make drains, search out insects nests on trees, 
etc., and burn them ; sow lime, ashes, soot, salt, 
charcoal dust, etc., over the ground, and the grass 
plat, to kill insects ; mend fences, arbours, etc. ; 
look over the seeds, and see that they are all pro- 
perly labeled, and keeping well ; ako the vegetables 
in the cellar, and onion sets in the garret ; see that 
the pickles and preserves do not ferment and get 
sour ; pick dead leaves ofif pot plan's, wash the green 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 205 



leaves with a sponge and pure water; syringe them 
over head on mild days; keep them in a tempera- 
ture above forty degrees over night, and fifty in the 
day-time ; give them as much light as possible, and 
but little water, except when in bloom ; apply the 
water in the mornings; destroy all insects on them, 
and stir the earth on top of the pots. 



CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY. 

Whatever was omitted last month, do this month. 
Procure horse manure and tanner's bark, to make a 
hot bed; get the seeds which are to be sowed in the 
hot bed separated from the rest, to be in readiness 
w^hen wanted ; look over the fruits, vegetables, onion 
sets, summer bulbs, pickles and preserves, to see 
that they are keeping well ; shift pot plants that are 
growing in too small pots, into larger ones ; scrape 
off the soil at the mouth of the pots, and put on fresh 
rich soil in its place. 



CALENDAR FOR MARCH. 



Make hot beds early; sow in them, egg-plants, 
tomatoes, early cabbage, lettuce, radish, tender 
annuals, peppers, etc., give air as needed; transplant 



18 



206 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

trees, shrubs, hardy roses, hedges, evergreens, etc. ; 
dig and sow early peas, beets, carrots, radishes, let- 
tuce, pepper-grass, celery, parsley, parsnips, salsafy, 
etc. ; plant early potatoes, onion sets, culinary vege- 
table plants, to grow seeds; prune grape-vines early; 
transplant into the open ground, early cabbage and 
lettuce, cauliflowers, etc., which have been kept in cool 
frames all winter; remove the covering off bulbous 
roots, and vegetables which have been in the open 
ground through the winter; re-pot plants, that need 
it; clear them of insects, dead leaves, etc.; wash 
and syringe the leaves; open the door and w^indow 
on them on mild days ; look over fruits, vegetables, 
pickles and preserves, to see that they are keeping 
well ; if the ground has not been all manured, do it 
now ; dig in the manure betw^een the rows of straw- 
berries, and cut off the runners, unless they are 
wanted for to make new beds; tie up and prune 
raspberries if not already done ; dig between the 
rows ; give new sticks if needed ; prune currants if 
not done ; dig in short manure about them ; do the 
same with gooseberries; if trees, shrubs, etc., have 
not been pruned, do it now^ ; and dig in the manure on 
asparagus beds; make new asparagus beds, sow also 
the seeds ; plant artichokes, pie plant, pot herbs, etc.; 
mend fences, arbours, etc. ; transplant trees, shrubs, 
hardy roses, and perennial roots. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 207 



CALENDAR FOR APRIL. 

Attend to hot beds ; water, air, and weed, when 
needed ; dig up every vacant spot in the garden ; 
any thing that was omitted last month, do now ; sow 
peas, beets, carrots, radishes, lettuce, pepper-grass, 
end of the month, to succeed these sowed last month ; 
plant strawberries, early corn, bush beans, box edg- 
ings, etc. ; clear up every spot of the garden, dig 
up the flower beds, and sow hardy annuals on them ; 
plant perennials, roses, etc., also biennials, where 
wanted ; give pot plants a fuller supply of water 
now, keep them free of insects, dead leaves, dust, 
etc. ; give plenty of light, and air, on mild days ; sow 
onion seeds, summer herbs, etc. ; transplant trees, 
shrubs, evergreens, roses, etc. 



CALENDAR FOR MAY. 

Any thing omitted last month, do early this month. 
Set bean poles, and plant the beans around them ; 
plant bush beans, cucumbers, musk melons, water 
melons, squashes, nasturtiums, early and late pota- 
toes, strawberries, evergreens, shrubs, roses ; sow 
half hardy annuals in the flower beds; plant peren- 
nials, biennials, and plants that have been kept in 



208 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

the house all winter, such as verbenias, pituneas, 
heliotropes, geraniums, vincas, fuchsias, plumbagos, 
salvias, etc. ; also procure some new varieties for a 
change; hoe between the rows of strawberries: 
cut off all runners, spread short grass or straw be- 
tween them, pick and eat the fruit of Buist's " Prize 
Seedling," and "Early May;" both are choice early 
kinds ; hoe between the rows of peas, and slick in 
the brush for them to climb on ; thin out and hoe 
between the row^s of beets, carrots, parsnips, salsafy, 
radishes, etc., and keep every thing in first rate 
order ; give pot plants a liberal supply of water and 
air; keep them clear of insects and dead leaves, 
syringing over head frequently ; tie up any that need 
it, neatly, with tastiful sticks ; re-pot any that need 
it. They may be set out in the open air by the end 
of the month, but keep in geraniums and others that 
are in flower, and their bloom will be prolonged ; 
plant dahlia roots, and tender bulbs. 



CALENDAR FOR JUNE. 

Open your mouths wide this month, tolef'Hovey's 
seedling strawberries" get in. O, how delicious! is 
there any thing in this world to equal them ? This 
is a pleasant month in the garden ; fruits, flowers, 
and vegetables, delicious, fragrant, and wholesome, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 209 

t^ — 

put forward your hand and help yourself; don't be 
afraid, there is abundance. 

Whatever was omitted last month do now ; trans- 
plant all the plants in the hot bed, into the open 
ground, if not done last month ; transplant cabbages, 
celery, leeks, peppers, and all others that are fit ; 
sow late beets, carrots, corn, etc. ; sow endive bro- 
coli, radish, lettuce, bush beans, etc. ; hoe up and 
rake off weeds ; mow the grass plat, every two 
weeks; sow annual flowers for late flowering; cut 
off dead flowers, of roses, etc.; plant dahlias, shift 
pot plants into larger pots that need it, syringe them 
over head every night, destroy insects on trees, 
bushes, etc., keep the whole garden in the finest 
style, any of the pot plants which were kept in the 
house all last month, may now be put out, tie up 
grape-vines as they progress in growth, nip off all 
latters, give dahlias and other flowers, neat tieing up 
sticks for supports, and keep them neatly tied upj 
train flowering vines up where wanted, water newly 
planted trees, shrubs, roses, vines, etc., also newly 
sowed seeds, if the weather continues dry. 



CALENDAR FOR JULY. 

Here comes delicious raspberries, apricots, goose- 
berries, cherries, currants, early peaches, melons, etc 
Whatever was undone last month, do now; give 



210 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

plenty of water to pot plants, and syringe them over 
head every evening, sow ruta baga and yellow aber- 
deen turnips, transplant cabbage, celery, kale, leek, 
brocoli, endive, etc. , hoe, rake, and keep down weeds, 
thin out such crops as need it, sow annual flowers 
for late flowering, sow biennial and perennial seeds to 
bloom next year, cut off all dead flowers as they 
fade, and keep every thing in the finest taste. 



CALENDAR FOR AUGUST. 

Ripe apples, pears, peaches, plums, melons, etc., 
are in abundance, also fragrant flowers, and whole- 
some vegetables w^ithout measure. 

Do all that was omitted last month ; plant late 
beans, cucumbers, etc., for pickling and fall use; 
transplant such plants that are fit, and water all that 
need it; sow ruta baga and yellow aberdeen turnips 
early, and red tops late ; gather seeds as they be- 
come ripe, thresh out clean, label, and paper them 
up ; eaVth up celery and endive on dry days ; late 
cabbage and celery may yet be planted ; sow Spanish 
radish, destroy insects every where, cut ofT all dead 
flowers, remove matured crops, and sow or plant the 
ground at once, give pot plants plenty of water ; cut 
in pituneas, verbenias, etc., that may have over- 
grown the edges of the walks, or are overtoping other 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 211 

plants; renew the ashes or lime around peach, plum 
or apricot trees, to keep off the cut worm, and exam- 
ine if there be none in the trees ; if so, kill them ; 
all kinds of pot plants should be shifted and get 
fresh soil end of this month ; don't let a weed nor an 
insect live a day. 



CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER. 

Plenty of ripe, rich, and delicious apples, peaches, 
pears, grapes, melons, etc., and no scarcity of flowers 
and vegetables, to please our sight, scent, and 
palate. 

Sow late spinach, scurvy grass, lettuce, early cab- 
bage, red top turnip, Spanish radish ; plant out 
onions for early spring use, and to produce seeds; 
dig up late potatoes, and other matured crops ; earth 
up celery and endive ; tie up dahlias and other 
flowers; hoe rake and keep down weeds; plant out 
strawberries. 



CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER. 

Mind your heads — don't you see those large apples, 
peaches, pears, grapes and quinces falling? plenty 
of fragrant flowers and wholesome vegetables ; gather 
in apples and pears before they are fully ripe ; pack 



212 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



them carefully ; pick all with the hand within reach; 
make splendid preserves of the quinces, and rich 
catsup of ripe tomatoes ; gather in cucumbers and 
beans for pickling, also nasturtiums ; make mangoes 
of small melons and large peppers ; fill boxes, bar- 
rels, pots, mugs, and jars, of the riches of the earth, 
and all your own produce ; every husbandman has 
his harvest ; now is the industrious cottagers, must 
be up and doing; "he that sleepeth in harvest, 
hungereth in winter ;'' gather in all crops as they 
become matured ; cut off all dead flowers, and keep 
free of weeds; take all pot plants into the house; 
wash the pots first, and syringe the plants well ; give 
them plenty of light, air and water ; plant bulbs. 



CALENDAR FOR NOVEMBER. 

" Chill November surly blasts. 
Make fields and forests bare.' 

Not so with the garden ; see how the apple and 
pear trees are loaded ! gather in the rest of the deli- 
cious grapes; there's a lot of large quinces left yet; 
how splendid them dahlias, chrysanthemums, roses, 
slavias, pituneas, vincas, verbenias, honeysuckles, 
etc., look! they make me think that it is summer; 
see how green those cabbages, celery, turnips, 
radishes, beets, carrots, parsnips, salsafy, beans, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 213 



leeks, brocoli, etc., all look! give us a drink of that 
sweet cider ! 

All fruits and root vegetables may be gathered in 
this month ; also dahlia and cobia roots • 

"House full; cellar full; where can we live?" 
tie up; cut off dead flowers; hoe and rake, and 
keep every thing tidy; transplant lettuce and early 
cabbage plants into the cool frame ; give pot plants 
plenty of light and air, but water sparingly ; keep 
the cellar door open all day to let off the sweat of 
the newly stored fruits and vegetables ; dig up ten- 
der bulbs; transplant trees, shrubs, hardy roses, etc. 



CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER. 

Now we have got the finisher of the out-door gar- 
den ; there are still chrysanthemums, roses, honey- 
suckles, pituneas, verbenias, china pinks, china asters, 
etc., in bloom; many of the parlour collection of pot 
plants, are in great splendour; epiphyllums, roses, 
heliotropes, camellias, chrysanthemums, scarlet ger- 
aniums, passiflorias, bignonias, salveas, vincas, etc., 
are all in bloom ; and the sweet scented kinds per- 
fume the whole air of the parlour; celery and late 
cabbages should now get their winter quarters ; all 
crops should now be gathered in and placed in their 
winter's quarters ; tie up all half hardy plants with 



214 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

straw for winter ; see article on the protection of 
roses ; cover bulbous roots with manure ; and vege- 
tables that are to be left out in the open ground, 
cover with straw, such as spinach, scurvy grass, let- 
tuce, etc ; clear the asparagus beds of dead stalks, 
and cover it with rotted manure ; clear the whole 
garden of faded flowers and vegetables, and spread 
the vacant places with manure; dig out the manure 
in the hot bed box; mix part of it in the compost 
for pot plants ; prune grape-vines early in this month . 
also shrubs, hardy roses, fruit and shade trees, etc. ; 
transplant trees, shrubs, hardy roses, grape-vines, 
etc; leave nothing undone, nor unprotected, this 
month. 

The above calendar is suitable for the latitude of 
Philadelphia; those for south, or for north of it, must 
be guided by the earliness or lateness of their sea- 
sons, as no calendar can be suitable for all latitudes, 
especially in such an extensive country as ours. 



KEEPING PIGS. 

Every cottager should keep one or two pigs, as 
they can live much on the refuse of the garden, and 
make the richest kind of manure for the soil. 

The grass breed — are white, short legged, easy 
kept, sweet meat, small bone and large hams. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 216 

The Berkshire breed — is a neat pig, with short nose, 
short pricked-up ears, short legs, small bone, large 
hams, good natured, and easy kept. 



KEEPING POULTRY, 

Is very profitable for the cottager ; the common 
hen is among the best, but should be kept up while 
the seeds are sown in the garden, indeed they will 
get more picking about the way side, than in the 
garden, and should not be too much encouraged at 
home, as they are bad gardiners. 

Bucks — are very profitable where there is a creek 
or pond near by ; they are seldom in the garden in 
summer, and don't scratch, but devour a host of de- 
structive insects. 

Geese — are also very profitable, when a creek or 
pond is near by. 

Tarkies — are not so easily raised, or so profitable, 
as any of the others, and are less suitable for the cot- 
tage, unless the cottager understands their nature ; 
the young ones are often attacked with a staggering 
disease, and die off very rapidly. 



216 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



A DIALOGUE, 

BETWEEN TWO COUSINS, AND OLD SCHOOLFELLOWS. 

Adam is a city mechanic, the owner of a house 
and lot. Ben, is a country mechanic, the owner of 
a cottage, and garden of a quarter of an acre, and a 
large workshop. Ben, calls on Adam, unexpectedly 
on a sabbath morning. 

B. Good morning, Adam! 

A. Good morning, Ben ! come and see my garden ! 

B. What a small spot you have got! 

A. Do you call two roods a small spot? look how 
many kinds of plants are grown on it, which yield 
flowers and fragrance from March till Christmas 



2 Daily roses. 


12 Hyacinths, 


2 Noisette, 


12 Crocuses, 


2 Bourbon, 


3 Carnation pinks. 


2 Remontant, 


3 Paisley " 


1 Moss, 


2 China « 


1 Cabbage, 


2 Vinca rosas, 


1 Damask, 


2 Salvias, 


1 MultiHora, 


6 Verbenias, 


1 Piaiiie, 


3 Pituneas, 


1 j\Iusk cluster. 


2 Heliotropes, 


1 Bourtault, 


2 Sweet Alysums, 



1 Evergreen Honeysuckle, 3 Phloxes, 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 217 



1 Monthly Honeysuckle, 2 Calceolarias, 
1 Coral " 1 Plumbago Capensis, 

1 Sweet scented Clematis, 6 Chrysanthemums, 
1 Sweet " Jasamine, 1 Euonymus japonica, 
1 Scarlet Pyrus, 2 Mignionette patches, 

1 Hydrangea Hortensis, 2 Escholtzias, 
12 Tulips, 2 Portulaccas, 

These have a different appearance, and scent from 
the long grass, thistles, nettles, single holyhocks, sun- 
flowers, etc., which cover your quarter of an acre. 
Now look at Sarah's pot plants, wdiich scent and 
bloom from November till June. 
2 Camellia japonicas, 1 Lemon tree, 

4 Geraniums, 1 Acacia, 

2 Azalias, 1 Kennedia, 

1 Heliotrope, 1 Ardisia, 

1 Daphne Odora, 1 Myrtle, 

1 Euphorbia, 3 Tea roses, 

2 Epiphyllums, 6 Hyacinths, 

Now these plants are a great pleasure to us; they 
are like children to us ; if you country folks could 
take an interest in your gardens, you would have 
some pleasure of your lives: but there is no taste in 
the country. Ah, Ben! if you had only come to the 
city when your apprenticeship was out, you would 
have been a different man than you are to-day. 

B. Adam, you are perhaps labouring under a mis- 
take. If you will take a sail up the river with me, 

19 



218 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



this afternoon, and see my cottage and garden, you 
will be an altered man when you return. 

A. Go to see your garden ! let me tell you, that 
the last time I saw it, I was so much disgusted at its 
condition, that I resolved never to set my foot in it 
again ; and now it is five years since. 

B. Don't you know that we live in an age of im- 
provements ? 

A. You love the hole below your nose too well to 
care about improvements, but I will take a sail up 
with you to get a change of air. 

B. Now we will soon be in sight of my cottage. 

A. There is a handsome carriage house. 

B. That is my workshop ! 

A. Who owns it ? 

B. I am its owner. 

A. There are two noble shade trees, growing on 
the side walk in front of that beautiful cottage. Let 
us stop and refresh ourselves under them. 

B. I planted those trees with my own hands, and 
that is my cottage. 

A. Your cottage ! nonsense ! 

B. Come into the house and rest yourself. 

A. What a fine place you have got ! that is a neat, 
well painted front fence ; the flower plat between it 
and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is 
beautiful, and that verandah over the door, covered 
with flowering vines, looks well. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 219 

B. Come round to the back of the house. 

A. What a fine shady place you have got here ! 
"what is that falling ? 

B. It is the luscious clusters of my vines. 

A. What a fine garden this is ? 

B. Walk down and see it. 

A. What are those big red apples lying there for? 

B. They are Hovey's seedling strawberry. 

A. Are those pumkins on that tree ? 

B. They are apple shaped quince. 

A. Are them ruta bagas on that tree ? 

B. They are dutchess d'Angolime pears. 

A. Are those nutmeg melons on that tree ? 

B. They are Rhode Island greening apples. 

A. Are those cantelopes on that tree ? 

B. They are Crawford's melacoton peaches. 

A. Are those oranges on that tree ? 

B. They are moorpark apricots. 

A. Are those maiden blush apples on that tree } 

B. They are Jefferson plums. 

A. What big black plums on that tree ? 

B. They are black tartarian cherries. 

A. What place is that covered with roses and 
Honeysuckles ? 

B. That's a shady bower with seats in it. 

A. Is that another shady bower, covered with 
sweet scented clematis and roses ? 

B. That's a building for the use of the family. 



220 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

A. What other place is that covered with Gly- 
scines and Jasmines. 

B. That's the pig pen. Jane is calling us to tea ! 
come up ! 

A. Jane, you have got a splendid place here. 
Ben, I would like to know when and how this refor- 
mation took place. 

B. A few weeks after you were here ; the temper- 
ance folks had a meeting, and me and Jane went to 
it. Mr. Delavan came up to us, and asked us so 
kindly to take the pledge that we had not the power 
to refuse. Shortly after that, our preacher got us to 
join the church, I began to get so much work to do, 
that I have had three men ever since. Mr. P. our 
merchant in the village, sent for me to go down there 
on the Friday evening, to attend a meeting for the 
improvement of the township. I went, Lawyer S. 
made a speech, he said ^* that we were getting 
entirely behind the age. The cottage garden in 
every county and state was improving ; and we, who 
were enjoying the blessings of a free government 
along with others, ought not to remain in our dor- 
mant state. We should be up and doing. Let us 
form a saving society, to assist in purchasing fruit 
trees, flowers, and a better kind of vegetables ; let 
every body in the township become a member, and 
pay in from one dime to one dollar per month, and 
we will soon have the finest cottage gardens in the 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 221 



country. Nothing gives a sweeter relish to life than 
a pleasant and happy home ; and nothing can be 
more pleasing than to have our cottages surrounded 
with delicious fruits, fragrant flowers and wholesome 
vegetables. And more than that, it makes a favour- 
able impression on the stranger travelling through 
the country, of our happy condition in life ; and 
exalts the character of our country abroad." I be- 
came a member at once, and have paid in a dollar 
per month ever since. So every plant in our garden 
has been got from the society, and we have never 
missed the money ; and now we have some pleasure 
in taking care of our garden, as we have something 
worth taking care of. 

A. A blessing has come over you ; but it is time 
for me to go home. 

B. Stop ! Jane has something to send to Sarah. 
Jane — Adam ! take this basket home to Sarah. 
A. What is in it ? 

Jane — Some pots of preserves, one of strawberries, 
one of gooseberries, one of currants, one of cherries, 
one of apricots, one of peaches, one of plums, one 
of quinces, one of pears, one of apple butter; a bot- 
tle of sweet cider, a bottle of tomato catsup, a bottle 
of pickled nasturtiums ; six bunches of grapes, a 
dozen of apples, and a dozen of pears, of last year's 
growth. Tell Sarah that they all grew in our own 
garden. Here are also a paper of dried herbs, and 

19* 



222 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

a paper of caraway seeds, some pickled peppers 
and cucumbers, and two mangoes. 

A. I have always thought that there could be no 
pleasure in a country life ; but now w^hen I see you 
enjoying so many of the necessaries and luxuries 
of life, the produce of your own garden, and at all 
times breathing the pure air, I am ready to say with 
the songster : 

" O give me my lowly thatched cottage agam ; 
The birds singing gayly that come at my call." 

I cannot see how it was that I chose a city life. I 
am an altered man since I left home. 



EXTRACT. 

THE MATRIMONIAL GARDEN. 

Man is formed for social enjoyment, and if it be 
allowed that " it is not good for him to be alone," it 
may justly be inferred that it is not good for woman 
to be alone. Hence a union of interests indicates a 
union of persons, for their mutual benefit. By this 
union, a sort of seclusion from the rest of our species 
takes place, and as a garden in a retired apartment, 
appropriated to propagation, cultivation and improve- 
ment the married state may be compared to it in 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OP AMERICA. 223 

many respects. I wish to instruct young adventurers 
in this garden, on the nature of the different plants 
grown in it, and caution them not to dream of per- 
manent happiness. The entrance to this garden is 
very gay and glittering. The first path is about 
thirty steps in length, and is strewed with flowers of 
rare beauty and fragrance. This is called " the honey 
moon path" at the end of this path, the garden opens 
in a vast variety of ways. You will meet a beautiful 
flower called " Good Humor ;" take a large sprig in 
your hand, and never let it go. There is a low un- 
sightly plant called Indifference ; do not touch it, 
you will know where it grows by the coolness of the 
air that surround it. Near this is that deadly plant 
called Jealousy ; never look at it, as it has marred 
the happiness of thousands. You will meet crooked 
paths inscribed on their entrance, ** I am right," do 
not enter them, for they occasion endless disputes. 
There is a rough sturdy plant called Obstinacy ; 
avoid it as you would the cholera. There is a lovely 
plant called Compliance, which bears a delicious 
fruit ; never be without a large sprig of it. There is 
an important plant called Economy ; cultivate it with 
care. There are two other plants of the same spe- 
cies called Industry and Frugality ; keep a good 
supply of each. There are three plants which the 
fair sex should cultivate, called Regularity, Exact- 
ness and Simplicity. There is a sweet, modest plant 



224 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

deserves good culture, called Humility, it adds a 
charm to life, and spreads a fragrance around its 
wearer. There is a compartment of the garden for 
raising young plants called the Nursery ; these young 
plants are frail, and liable to be destroyed by every 
blast. Should you witness a fade on the dawning 
beauties of a young plant. Oh ! how your fond hearts 
will bleed with tender affection ! should it live and 
thrive, spare no pains to " train it up in the way it 
should go," weed it, water it, prune it. It will need 
all the cultivator's skill ; without this, many baneful 
weeds will grow up with it, and blast your fondest 
hopes. Without careful cultivation, what can you 
expect, but that the growth of unruly appetites, will 
in time break forth, in disgraceful irregularities. 
Anger, like a prickly thorn, will arm the temper with 
untractable moroseness ; Peevishness, like a stinging 
nettle, will render the conversation irksome and for- 
bidding ; Avarice, like a choking weed, will teach 
the fingers to gripe, and the hands to oppress ; Re- 
venge, like a poisonous plant, replete with baneful 
juices, will rankle in the breast, and meditate mis- 
chief to its neighbour ; unbridled Lusts, like swarms 
of noisome insects, will taint each rising thought, 
and render ^' every imagination of the heart only 
evil continually," such are the usual products of un- 
restrained nature ; such the furniture of uncultivated 
minds; by all means then clear the soil by careful 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 225 

instruction ; implant the seeds of virtue, " direct the 
young idea how to shoot," the wayward passions 
how to move. Then the mature man will become 
the chief ornament of the garden. Around him, 
Charity, will breathe her sweets, and in his branches 
Hope expand her blossoms ; in him the personal 
virtues will display their graces, and the social ones 
their fruit; the sentiments will become generous, 
the carriage endearing, the life useful, and the end 
happy. 



THE COTTAGE. 

Having passed through the matrimonial garden, 
we now arrive at the cottage which the united 
*' happy pair" are to occupy. If it is situated alone 
by the way side, or in a small scattered village, it 
should never exceed one and a half stories in height, 
and have the roof sloping on all sides, and some 
other form than square should be adopted, Gothic 
style is suitable, and it should invariably stand 
twenty feet off the way side ; with a neat light fence 
in front. The cottages on the same way side, or in 
the same small village, should differ as much as pos- 
sible in their forms, and modes of construction, so as 
to give a pleasing variety ; but none should be of 
tall, narrow construction. These narrow, naked 



226 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

three story houses are unsightly when standing alone, 
and they should never be chosen by cottagers, un- 
less in a town or thickly settled village, where the 
nakedness of one house is hid by its next neighbour; 
every cottage should have a porch, or verandah, 
over its front door, to train flowering vines upon, 
and serve as a pleasant, shady seat in the summer 
time. Cottagers intending to put up cottages for 
themselves, should procure a drawing, count the 
cost, and keep that within the bounds of their capi- 
tal ; contract with an honest builder to put it up, 
and finish it, for so much. Those putting up cot- 
tages for rent, should make them convenient, and 
of a size suitable for the purpose intended. All per- 
sons of fine taste, prefer a neat convenient small 
house, to one that is more roomy if of common- 
looking constructions. Ladies and Gentlemen who 
have farmers and gardiners living on their premises, 
should furnish them with neat comfortable cottages, 
near to the side of the most public road passing their 
places, if that is not too far from their labour. Every 
body looks up to those richer than themselves for 
examples ; so every lady and gentleman should 
create a fine taste for building in the neighbourhood 
where they reside, by erecting neat cottages for their 
working hands. 

We, while in the capacity of head gardener to 
private gentlemen, occupied some very neat and 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 2S7 

comfortable cottages. When in the service of Ed- 
ward C. Delavan, Esq., (Champion of temperance,) 
we had that unique cottage at the corner of his noted 
flower garden in Albany, N. Y. It had three rooms 
on the first floor, and a good garret, and was finely 
shaded with a grape-vine arbour, which stretched 
over it ; a neat bleaching green behind it, and a 
pump and well of " pure cold water" for our private 
use- 
While in the service of Robert Donaldson Esq., 
we were the first to occupy that neat cottage, so 
widely known as the " gardener's house at Blithe- 
wood," and so favourably noticed in Downing's 
book on landscape gardening. There was an eighth 
of an acre of excellent ground attached to it ; enclosed 
with a close board fence, and stocked with choice 
fruit trees, as a garden for us ; and a good well and 
windlass for our private use, and also a neat hog 
pen. The cottage had three rooms, on the first floor, 
and two rooms above, and a fine cellar ; the tw^o 
upper rooms were then occupied by the pious and 
philanthropic Miss Isabella Donaldson, sister to our 
employer, as a Sunday School. All the youths of 
the neighbourhood assembled there on Sunday after- 
noons, and we were an assistant teacher. 

While in the service of Dr. Peter Wendell of Al' 
bany, N. Y., he put up a neat cottage for us, with 
four rooms on the first floor, a large cellar, and good 



228 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

garret, and a pump and fine well of water in 
front. 

While in the service of Dr. J. Marshall Paul, of 
Ellerslie, Warren Co. N. J., we occupied a neat 
cottage, and garden attached, which was the pride 
of '' Belvidere," the village in which it was situated. 

If any cottager dislikes the rich people, we think 
that it must be for want of knowing them. These, 
our late employers, were kind and sociable with us, 
anxious to make us happy, and made us more like 
their companion than their workman ; and that made 
us anxious to please, and perform our duty in faith- 
fulness to them ; and although we left them, it was 
without a fault, but a whim and desire of ours, to 
see other places, and here we candidly say, that it 
has proved much to our disadvantage in moving so 
much. 

We have now been three years settled in Phila- 
delphia, and some of the richest ladies and gentle- 
men in the city are our best friends ; and we are 
enabled to live comfortable and happy by them. 

If this should meet the eyes of any of our late 
employers, or our present friends, we say, ladies and 
gentlemen, do not think that all the good you have 
done is lost ; for we, for one, still remember your 
many kindnesses; while we have life in our body, 
and presence of mind, we will always bear a grate- 
ful heart to you. 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 229 



CITY GARDEN. 

The private city garden is in general smaller in 
size than the country cottage garden, and is more 
tidy kept and richly dressed, but then it is near the 
*Moug of the law" (the nurseries) and is well sup- 
plied with counsellors and physicians, (experienced 
gardeners.) By-the-bye there are a great many 
*^ Quacks," who give wrong counsel for want of 
knowledge to give right, and charge more for kill- 
ing than the experienced do for curing. But that 
encourages trade, and changes are lightsome ; so 
any body may be a Doctor, a Lawyer, or a Gardener, 
in these days of false " Democracy." Every-body 
in a city should adorn the front of his dwelling with 
a pair of neat shade trees, and convert his back 
yard into a flower garden ; it is the cheapest amuse- 
ment he and his family can get ; much more so than 
attending balls and theatres. We are not against 
such entertainments for young folks, if not too much 
indulged in, but married people should try to make 
their partners happy by creating amusements at home, 
and nothing is more pleasing than a neat well kept 
garden. Every house in Philadelphia has its flower 
garden, and nearly every one has its couple of street 

shade trees; we like to see a grape-vine in everv 

20 



230 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 

garden, but hate fruit trees in very small ones ; they 
are like the Potentates of old, they extend their roots 
and branches so far, as to take up nearly all the 
nourishment in the soil, and the benefit of the sun 
and air, and make the starving subjects under them, 
believe that they could not live unless they were 
under their shade. 

The following was written by the author a few 
years ago, and published in the ^'United States 
Gazette." 

Among the various amusements and recreations 
enjoyed by the inhabitants of large towns and crowded 
cities, none affords a greater source of innocent plea- 
sure, or is better calculated to instruct and moralize 
the young, than the neatly laid out, the well-stocked 
and nicely kept flower garden; and nothing can 
more plainly bespeak the refined taste and good dis- 
position of a family, or tend more to promote their 
health and happiness. The different members of the 
household are invited out at an earlier hour in the 
mornings, than they otherwise would be wont to go, 
to witness how the Great Ruler of the Universe has 
watered the plants with the dew of heaven, and to 
inhale the fragrance of their odoriferous flowers. 
And the summer evenings are usually spent in social" 
enjoyment by the w^hole family under the shade of 
their own fruitful vine and fig tree. The garden 
affords a pleasure, and produces beauties for nine 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA 231 

months in the year; in February, the snow-drop 
raises its delicate head, and expands its pale blos- 
soms to view ; it is soon followed by the crocus, 
tulip and rose, and other flowering plants come in 
irregular progression, to keep up the bloom and fra- 
grance till the end of November ; when the green 
house and parlor collection forms an object of greater 
amusement and attraction. As every thing out doors 
becomes dreary and sad, what can be compared to 
the splendour and beauty of the Epiphyllums, and 
Euphorbias in the winter months, combined with a 
choice and varied collection of camellia japonicas, 
an orange and a lemon tree, loaded with their 
golden fruit, and the delightful fragrance of the pur- 
ple flowers of the Daphne odora. They may be suc- 
ceeded with choice varieties of the everblooming 
rose, the Heliotropeum, Hyacinth, and other vernal 
flowering plants of minor growth ; and these may be 
followed by the Agelea, Geranium and Cactus tribes, 
which will prolong the bloom until the garden has 
put on a gay appearance. 

I never knew a person who entered this path of 
pleasure that was willing to give it up. The late 
Judge Buel, in an address on the improvements of 
our country said ; " He who endeavours to improve 
and beautify the small spot of ground attached to his 
dwelling, may be considered both a patriot and a 
christian, and does much to elevate himself and his 



232 THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 



country in the scale of improvement. The cre- 
ditable progress which Boston, New York and Phila- 
delphia, have made in this branch of Horticultural 
improvement, within the last ten years, is surely un- 
surpassed in the history of cities. This may be at- 
tributed to the prosperity of our country, the refined 
taste and liberality of our citizens, the fostering influ- 
ence of our Horticultural societies, and the indefati- 
gable exertions of our commercial and practical 
gardeners. Although Boston and New York have 
done much, Philadelphia may, without exaggeration 
be called the Flower Garden of the United States. 



THE FARMERS OF AMERICA. 

We have always been delighted when taking a 
summer jaunt through the country, to see the highly 
cultivated fertile fields, with crop of different kinds 
waving in the breeze, and bending under their own 
luxuriance. The beauty and fruitfulness of the 
orchards, the implements of husbandry of the most 
improved cast, the fine breeds of horses, and other 
domestic animals, the large and commodious barns, 
handsomely built and neatly painted dwellings, 
standing apart from the ojther farm buildings, in the 
middle of well stocked, well-kept and neatly fenced 



THE COTTAGE GARDEN OF AMERICA. 233 



gardens, with the tidy house wives, the stout bloom- 
ing sons, and the gay beautiful daughters, whose 
blithe countenances bespeak them the inhabitants of, 

" The land of the free, and the home of the brave." 

Of all the people in the world, they are surely the 
most independent and happy, and would be the first, 
and best fitted to defend the country, were a foe to 
invade it. A blessing must it be, if all other coun- 
tries possess such exemplary men, and skilful rural 
economists as the Farmers of America. 

20* 



THE END. 



\^^< 



Jo hu^^^^ f2Q 



7 



